2017 ICT4D Conference

SOS Children’s Village Sri Lanka empowers women at grass-roots through mobile technology using “SMS Quicklearns” to enhance women's parenting skills on the benefit of their children.

The feasibility study showed high mobile penetration at the grass-root level and being mainly fishing communities needed cognizance on various social skills to assure a safe and caring home environment for the children. Text To Change Programme disseminates information on child-care, child rights & protection and managing family income with a view to change their behaviour for the well-being of their children & families.

The content and technical support is provided by MobilTrain, but the topics are prioritised by mothers. MobilTrain gives face to face training to mothers on the topics and then messages related are disseminated daily through ""SMS Quicklearns"". This includes daily to-dos, questions for introspection, behaviour modification and homework which is monitored by the focus group leaders. Some of the findings during interim evaluation were: Better understanding of the emotional needs of their children, Improved communication and relationship with their children, learning English and motivation to learn as peer learning.

Thanks to the success, Text To Change was extended in Cambodia targeting youth employability. Supporting youth leaving SOS care to succeed on a competitive job market is one of SOS' great challenges. SOS Cambodia tackles the issue using what they all know best: their mobile phone. MobilTrain delivers tailor-made content in customized packets through Short Message Services, or voice messages. The teacher disseminates daily text messages-the “SMS Quick Learns”-and conducts virtual sessions through “Skype” on monthly basis.Split into three phases students improve their English, build self-confidence or learn how to prepare properly for job interviews, and how to live a self-reliant life as a young adult. More info: https://youtu.be/tmswdfd9ukg