Mobile app as lifeline in crises: Registering refugees even without internet connection  

IT experts make life easier for people in Cameroon or Brazil. Resco has developed an app allowing refugees to be electronically registered – even without internet access. How did we pull this off?   

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is meticulous in selecting partners. And they discovered Resco in the best possible way – through a recommendation by one of the world’s largest companies. 

Putting their capabilities and skills to the test 

“UNHCR heard about us from Microsoft, with whom we have collaborated for many years. They were familiar with our focus on offline applications,” says Andrew Lorraine, CEO of Resco – a company whose vision is helping mobile workers become more efficient. 

We faced an initial challenge: using a mobile or tablet app to locate refugee family members registered in remote refugee centers – all without an internet connection! 

“We managed to do this by searching for the registered members and their contacts in various Resco apps via Bluetooth. At that time, we had no idea that it was a UNHCR project. When we found out, we were excited and motivated for our support to grow into a genuine partnership,” added Andrew. 

Initial version in just 3 months 

We quickly passed the test with flying colors, and Resco’s developers then set about developing a RApp (Rapid Application) to register refugees even without internet access, using the Resco Mobile App Development Toolkit. The major challenges were achieving data quality, app performance, and ease-of-use for field workers. And all that without internet connection. These technical hurdles were overcome, and fine-tuning of the app took just three months.  

And what did the UNHCR employees think? “The RApp reduced refugee registration time from fifteen minutes to just four, compared with other online apps that we used. The Resco platform has radically reduced our dependency on pen & paper as we move towards deploying digital tools,” said David Birt, Chief of Development & Support Unit at UNHCR.  

Every minute counts in crisis situations – with a large number of people, minutes add up to hours or even days of waiting.   

On-site feedback from Cameroon 

Cooperation between Resco and UNHCR was not a one-off provision of software; the application is constantly evolving. In recent years, nine people have worked on the project, but practically the whole company participated in its development.  

Resco employees’ exploratory visit to Cameroon also provided valuable on-site feedback. In the towns of Beroua and Batouri, they experienced the UNHCR’s work with refugees first-hand. 

“We were grateful for the opportunity to experience something completely new, both in how we view our day-to-day work and our overall perspective of the world. We also gained key practical insights about our technologies in the field,” noted Andrew.  

This journey also proved to be an enriching personal experience. Our employees found that stepping out of their comfort zone – professionally and personally – is always a good thing. 

“It was inspiring to see how the UNHCR team and the refugees handled these challenging circumstances with dignity and perseverance. This experience gave us the opportunity to reflect on our own lives and strive to provide more help to those in need,” concluded Andrew about the Africa trip.  

The Ukraine war brings crisis to our doorstep 

The partnership between UNHCR and Resco was inevitably marked by the war in Ukraine, where the RApp app is also used. Programmers got even more essential on-site information, and UNHCR opened an office in Bratislava in response to the situation. This resulted in even closer collaboration on further improvements, making life easier for both workers and, most importantly, refugees. 

The app goes beyond registration and staff can leverage the offline platform to sync with critical assistance programmes and protection services. 

Among other things, we soon plan to expand the app to help those seeking to return home after the threat has passed in their country.