Considering all the alleged abuses that have been taking place over the past few weeks, people in communities where these things are happening might not be able to report these incidents to the police but maybe turning to U-Report might be their last resort.
What’s U-Report?
As the name suggests, U-report is a free SMS “social monitoring” tool for community participation, designed to address issues that the population cares about. SMS Polls and Alerts are sent out and the results and ideas from these polls are shared back with the community.
The issues which are discussed include; health, education, water, sanitation and hygiene, youth unemployment, HIV/AIDS, disease outbreaks; social welfare sectors.
The UN initiative has over 160 thousand subscribers in Zimbabwe, with 54% being males. The age demographic is quite interesting as well with 35% of participants being above 35, whilst there are 0% younger than 14.
How does one register for U-Report?
Simply send “JOIN” to 33500 and then you’ll be asked a few questions such as your preferred language, gender, age, and your province.
After registration you can expect your first poll, which I’m yet to receive.
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