HELP LINE FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS
The WhatsApp Help Line provides women in mining communities with confidential, access to reporting, referral, and response.
“I had no one to call”
Women and girls are caught in a gold mining rush. Many are trafficked to the area or brought by family, and they are left without options for help. That is where we come in. We make our Help Line visible, printed on hundreds of T-shirts and thousands of condoms given away in the community. Then the calls come in. We answer and assist, bringing women and girls to court and to the police, and connecting them with the services they need. Orphans and widows are the most vulnerable in the community, and we have assisted in multiple cases involving both.
How The Help Line Works
The Help Line receives calls and messages and responds with peer support, health referral, legal aid, or emergency mobilization. It operates in both diamond mining communities and gold rush communities, so support reaches women and girls wherever mining draws them. The line runs on WhatsApp because it is the tool women already use and trust, it works on low bandwidth networks, and it can be used silently when a call is not safe. Branded T-shirts carrying the Help Line number travel through villages, markets, and public transport, so that anyone, including a girl who cannot risk asking openly, can find the number and reach help.
What Has Been Built
Hundreds of T-shirts carrying the Help Line number are worn every day in diamond and gold mining communities. They are worn by men and women: mine workers, police, women in the market, and local leaders. The message is getting through. Women and girls call the line, reach out, are heard, and receive care.
Why Your Support Matters
Each call is a moment when a woman or girl decides to ask for help. A trained responder must be able to answer, travel to her, and stay with her case through the clinic, the police, and the court. Over three years, the Help Line aims to directly serve approximately 1,800 callers and reach an estimated 27,000 community members. Anonymized patterns from the line will build an evidence base on gender based violence and trafficking in mining communities, informing local advocacy and standards across the jewelry and mining sectors. Your support keeps the line answered.
How Your Gift Works
The Help Line is funded through a monthly response pool. The pool is replenished each month so that when an emergency call comes in, the team can respond immediately. The pool supports the Case Companion who follows each case from first call to resolution.
Make a Donation
Monthly Help Line Budget
