Tanzanian SMS service connects villagers to water assistance

Link: Tanzania: Cell phone SMS brings instant relief – IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre.

Gertrude from Shinyanga in Tanzania used the latest technology to tackle an age old problem – and cut through months of delay and frustration. The familiar problem was that the well in her village was out of use – and villagers could not get any help to repair it. The new technology was her mobile phone that she used to send an SMS message to a number she had seen on a sticker. ‘What can I do … I am trying to convince others to repair it, but it is difficult”, she asked.

Nor did her plea go unanswered. The message was received by a pioneering ‘Uliza Ujibiwe”, service, which means ‘Ask a Question and Get an Answer” in Kiswahili.

Ah an excellent example of how the medium can be put to use to connect people.