International Humanitarian Organization Delivers First Virus Prevention Information to Marginalized and Remote Communities Through Global Grassroots Efforts

Alight, formerly known as the American Refugee Committee, is proud to share that the IN OUR HANDS campaign has officially reached 100 million people worldwide. The campaign, which was created in conjunction with IDEO.org, launched in mid-April as COVID-19 was surging globally and millions of people still hadn't heard of the virus. IN OUR HANDS was developed to share bite-sized, positive health messaging and prevention techniques, while also dismantling prevalent myths and misinformation about COVID-19. What started as an effort in the 19 countries that Alight serves has since been translated into over 40 languages and expanded to get lifesaving information to marginalized and remote communities in 86 different countries.

"We are extremely pleased by the reach and impact we've been able to achieve with the IN OUR HANDS campaign – from dense cities to rural farmlands especially being able to help so many organizations and communities missed by other outreach efforts," says Daniel Wordsworth, Alight CEO. "Especially impactful has been all the translations into regional languages, removing barriers to communication and unlocking information for so many people."

The campaign utilized social media as one of the main communication platforms, working with 170+ influencers from over 10 countries. Alight's agency partner, Kepler, executed a highly targeted digital advertising campaign, amplifying the message of the program.

"In-house automation tools allowed us to deploy the campaigns quickly, in under a week, and test multiple rounds of creative to understand what was driving the most impact," says Johnny Bachrach, Kepler's Altruism project lead. "This resulted in a reach of over 26 million people in both rural and urban areas of Kenya, Pakistan, Somalia, South Sudan, and Uganda."

As the campaign picked up momentum, additional grassroots approaches for reaching more people were employed and customized for each country. Efforts including radio and television broadcasts, billboard installations, door-to-door sensitization and message broadcasts from vehicles were leveraged in varying ways to ensure that accurate information was received by as many people as possible.

"Our aim was to develop an uplifting and informative campaign that was contextually relevant and resonant for a wide range of communities," adds Jocelyn Wyatt, CEO, IDEO.org. "By listening to the unique needs and concerns of various communities, and translating those considerations into campaign language, visuals, and modes of communication that are responsive to each setting, we created a unified global campaign that speaks to Alight's values."

To learn more about the IN OUR HANDS campaign, please visit @we.are.alight on Instagram or @WeAreAlight on Facebook, and to show your support, please visit www.wearealight.org/covid19response.

ABOUT ALIGHT
Established in 1978 by founder Neal Ball, Alight, formerly known as American Refugee Committee, provides health care, clean water, shelter, protection and economic opportunities to more than 3.5 million people in 17 countries each year. Alight believes in the incredible creativity, potential, and ingenuity of the displaced and works to shine a light on their humanity, the tremendous amount of good that's already happening and the possibilities to do more. The organization exists to see and help every person make meaningful change in the world – from displaced and marginalized communities in Africa, Asia and the Americas to...anyone, anywhere. Learn more about Alight at www.wearealight.org