Abayima is a non-profit organization that was founded to support citizens when their voices are threatened in the form of attacks on communications infrastructure. Abayima (the

Luganda The Ganda language or Luganda (, , ) is a Bantu language spoken in the African Great Lakes region. It is one of the major languages in Uganda and is spoken by more than 10 million Baganda and other people principally in central Uganda including ...

word for "Guardian") was inspired by the plight of activists in countries like Uganda, Libya, Syria, and Egypt where authorities have been known to sever (or monitor) citizen access to the internet and mobile communication. During these 'internet black-outs', Abayima provides solutions that allow citizens and journalists to communicate in spite of such measures. In 2011 the project was piloted by

Jon Gosier Jonathan D. "Jon" Gosier (born 1981 or 1982) is a software developer, investor, and philanthropist. He was named as one of Ten African Tech Voices to Follow on Twitter by CNN and one of the 25 most influential African-Americans in Technology by ...

and his colleagues when government authorities in Uganda began intercepting SMS messages, a popular means for communicating in developing countries during times of crisis.

Products

Open SIM Kit (OSK) is an open source software for editing the content of SIM cards. There are many different mobile phones and many different SIM cards on the market; the project attempts to solve this problem by offering an intuitive tool for modifying the contents of SIM cards.

Awards

Abayima was awarded $150,000 from the

Knight Foundation The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, also known as the Knight Foundation, is an American non-profit foundation that provides grants for journalism, communities, and the arts. The organization was founded as the Knight Memorial Education ...

in th
2013 Knight News Challenge
Previously, in 2011, the project received a £15,000 grant from Indigo Trust.

References

{{Reflist Human rights organisations based in Uganda Organizations established in 2011