Safaricom Donates 50 Million SMS to Boost Poll Peace Initiative

Nairobi, February 7th, 2013…Leading integrated communications provider, Safaricom Limited has announced its partnership with Sisi ni Amani –Kenya, a community based peace organisation that seeks to leverage on SMS technology as a tool for fostering peace and cohesiveness in the buildup to the general elections. 

The unique SMS based peace program which can be accessed by all Safaricom customers on short code SMS (8762) and USSD *762# will benefit from a huge donation of 50 million free SMS’s from the telecom’s operator. This donation guarantees free access for all users of the service.

Sisi ni Amani-Kenya was created by a group of local peace leaders in Eastlands who recognized the need to turn mobile technology into a tool for peace. In its pilot programs Sisi ni Amani Kenya has built a membership of over 50,000 users in areas which have been identified as potential hotspots. Other partners in this initiative include Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), National Cohesion Integration Commission (NCIC) and the Kenya Police Service. 

Using the SMS platform, community peace ambassadors will send out peace messages targeted at specific incidents at a micro level with the aim of preventing, reducing or stopping election based violence. Members of the public can also use the platform to report incidents of violence within their communities free of charge. 
Speaking at the launch, Safaricom’s Director of Corporate Affairs Nzioka Waita said “the 2007-2008 post-election violence woke us all up to the dangers of technology such as SMS, voice and data being used to polarise our country. Recognising the complexity and historical significance of the upcoming elections, we have decided to support a wide range of initiatives in partnership with like-minded organisations who want to curb the abuse of these mediums as platforms for spreading hatred and fanning violence.”

Sisi ni Amani-Kenya CEO Rachael Brown said., “At the height of the post-election violence, peace actors at the local levels made many courageous attempts to bring peace to their communities but were hampered by a lack of proper communication tools. This initiative therefore aims to bridge that gap and promote the usage of the mobile phone as a gateway to promoting a peaceful and participatory election process.”

Nairobi, February 7th, 2013…Leading integrated communications provider, Safaricom Limited has announced its partnership with Sisi ni Amani –Kenya, a community based peace organisation that seeks to leverage on SMS technology as a tool for fostering peace and cohesiveness in the buildup to the general elections. 

The unique SMS based peace program which can be accessed by all Safaricom customers on short code SMS (8762) and USSD *762# will benefit from a huge donation of 50 million free SMS’s from the telecom’s operator. This donation guarantees free access for all users of the service.

Sisi ni Amani-Kenya was created by a group of local peace leaders in Eastlands who recognized the need to turn mobile technology into a tool for peace. In its pilot programs Sisi ni Amani Kenya has built a membership of over 50,000 users in areas which have been identified as potential hotspots. Other partners in this initiative include Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), National Cohesion Integration Commission (NCIC) and the Kenya Police Service. 

Using the SMS platform, community peace ambassadors will send out peace messages targeted at specific incidents at a micro level with the aim of preventing, reducing or stopping election based violence. Members of the public can also use the platform to report incidents of violence within their communities free of charge. 
Speaking at the launch, Safaricom’s Director of Corporate Affairs Nzioka Waita said “the 2007-2008 post-election violence woke us all up to the dangers of technology such as SMS, voice and data being used to polarise our country. Recognising the complexity and historical significance of the upcoming elections, we have decided to support a wide range of initiatives in partnership with like-minded organisations who want to curb the abuse of these mediums as platforms for spreading hatred and fanning violence.”

Sisi ni Amani-Kenya CEO Rachael Brown said., “At the height of the post-election violence, peace actors at the local levels made many courageous attempts to bring peace to their communities but were hampered by a lack of proper communication tools. This initiative therefore aims to bridge that gap and promote the usage of the mobile phone as a gateway to promoting a peaceful and participatory election process.”