Case Study: Heal Zimbabwe Trust strengthens human rights reporting with Ushahidi

Exploring the Impact of Technology in Addressing Serious Human Rights Violations

Heal Zimbabwe Trust, a non-profit peacebuilding organization, faced the challenge of documenting human rights violations during a period of severe political repression and a contested national election. Citizens were fearful of reprisals from authorities and powerful individuals, making traditional reporting methods ineffective. To overcome this, they utilized the Ushahidi platform and its anonymous reporting service to create a safe channel for collecting crucial data.

The solution implemented by Ushahidi provided geo-tagging, crowd-mapping, and multiple reporting channels including SMS and social media integration. This allowed for anonymous, near real-time reporting from citizens even in low-internet areas. The deployment by Ushahidi collected 172 verified reports of violations, including intimidation, assault, and murder. This data was essential for advocacy, increased accountability, and enabling a quicker organizational response to provide assistance to victims.

Heal Zimbabwe Trust