Here in Ununley, a settlement 30 miles to the southeast of Burco, the WhatsApp group helped 10 families with food.
“And the speed was what mattered – life-saving depends on speed.
In the first month, some $20,000 in donations were sent – often direct deposits using smartphone apps – according to the creators of the “Caring” group.
After six months, a total of $255,000 was donated – demonstrating both a new mechanism for harnessing the Somali diaspora to help, and how it is possible for that help to arrive directly, in real time.
“What amazes us was this 21st-century technology to solve problems of those facing age-old challenges.
It’s something new; nobody knew how to make it.” Aid inspiration The idea was so successful that other clan groups used it as a model: Messages and photos of need would spread within the initial core WhatsApp group, and then spread further on other social media platforms.
“When a person becomes bankrupt, the first thing he faces is a loss of confidence,” says Mohamed Said Aidid, one of the founders of the group.
“The first month they worried about where to live and to eat,” says Mr. Aidid.
“The last six months they began to trust us: to wait for assistance, and know it is coming.
“That doesn’t mean we are leaving livestock, but reducing dependence.” If drought does hit hard again, though, members of this sub-clan and others now know how to help: by taking their phones out of their pockets.