TSF marks its third year of presence in Syria.
The month of May 2014 has seen TSF open a further fixed-satellite high-speed internet connection for medical aid services in Manbij, northern Syria. This latest connection brings TSF’s total up to 15.
TSF's mission focuses on two priorities:
• Supporting medical teams;
• The education of Syrian refugee children.
Since its presence in 2012, TSF has connected 15 hospitals, 1 coordination center (Syrian Red Crescent), provided 11 satellites lines for medical aid coordination, and installed two educational centers for Syrian refugee children.
Supporting medical teams
The month of May 2014 has seen TSF open a further fixed-satellite high-speed internet connection for medical aid services in Manbij, northern Syria. This latest connection brings TSF’s total up to 15, meaning that medical aid coordination is being improved across the country in the areas where it is required the most.
TSF plans to set up two further connections in the coming months, enhancing its presence in the most affected areas of Syria.
Those satellites lines have been distributed throughout the country, which have allowed for hundreds of hours of communication for repatriation logistics of wounded civilians to neighboring countries.
These connections, true «lungs of communication" are vital to medical organisations: they are used to guide and transport victims, to communicate needs and equipment in hospitals, and to provide statistical data of the patients.
15 satellites lines have been distributed throughout the country, which have allowed for hundreds of hours of communication for repatriation logistics of wounded civilians to neighboring countries.
These connections, true «lungs of communication" are vital to medical organisations: they are used to guide and transport victims, to communicate needs and equipment in hospitals, and to provide statistical data of the patients.
Thanks to TSF’s connections, isolated Syrian hospitals can now use telemedicine as a means of communication with the outside world:
• Remote consultations are made possible;
• Syrian doctors can share their expertise and diagnostics with their colleagues around the world;
• Telemonitoring allows doctors to remotely manage the efficient functioning of several services (ICU, resuscitation unit ...)
• Doctors may be remotely assisted by medical professionals during consultations and operations.
TSF also provides high speed satellite connections to the benefit of the Refugee Registration Centre (managed by the Syrian Red Crescent) and the for the Logistical Coordination Centre within the Al Salama refugee camp.
The Al Salama camp is located close to the Turkish border at the edge of the main road to Aleppo and currently holds 15,000 Syrian refugees. There are new arrivals every day fleeing bombardments taking place a matter of kilometres away.
The camp is the humanitarian aid main coordination point at the border area of Aleppo. Beyond the refugees in Al Salama, this humanitarian aid also serves hundreds of thousands of Syrians who are not in camps. The Coordination Centre reinforces medical support, food and basic goods distribution in the region.
Education of Syrian refugee children
Children have become the primary victims of the Syrian civil conflict which started in March 2011. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are more than 1.1 million Syrian refugee children who have fled the country, the majority of whom do not attend school.
Faced with these alarming statistics, Télécoms Sans Frontières continues to bring its support to Syrian children thanks to its two education centres.
TSF’s education centre in the Al Salama refugee camp, equipped with a high speed internet connection and interactive tablets offers a more informal way of learning, enabling pupils to interact with their classmates. They can also stay connected with the outside of the world, beyond the camp area, which is constantly changing.
The second education centre in Gaziantep (on the Syrian border), equipped with ICT equipment and a high-speed internet connection, has welcomed, via the School of Friendship, almost 700 refugee children, each of whom have taken lesions in the use of ICT. In 2014, TSF will pursue its support amongst Syrian refugee children, putting a particular emphasis on their education.