“Cruz Roja Te Escucha”: Digital Engagement Hub in Colombia
01 September 2026
When a crisis hits, the flow of information tends to go in one direction: organizations push out updates, and the people most affected are left with unanswered questions. They cannot easily report what they are experiencing, follow up on a previous request, or get referred to the right service. That gap is not just frustrating. It undermines the quality and relevance of the response itself.
The Digital Engagement Hub addresses that gap. The Netherlands Red Cross works with National Societies to set up a digital helpdesk that makes two-way communication possible across the channels people already use: phone calls, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and SMS. When someone reaches out, the system creates a record, recognizes them if they contact again, and supports referrals to other services, so people do not have to start over every time.
The data generated through these interactions is not just operational. It surfaces patterns: what questions keep coming up, what gaps exist in the response, where people are falling through the cracks. That turns community feedback into something organizations can actually act on.
Support has been applied across acute crisis, protracted crisis and response preparedness contexts, in countries including Colombia, Georgia, Kenya, Ukraine and beyond.
How we work together
Support starts with understanding what a National Society needs and whether the platform is a good fit for their context. It can include:
- Helping organizations use data from community interactions to refine programmes and inform decision-making.
- Conducting an initial assessment of the National Society’s communication needs, existing channels and operational context.
- Determining platform suitability and designing the right setup together with the National Society.
- Implementing the technical configuration on-site, with a goal of having the platform operational within 48 hours of a disaster.
- Training National Society staff and volunteers to manage the platform independently.
- Providing remote support from The Netherlands during and after implementation.
Local example
In Colombia, the Colombian Red Cross built a digital helpdesk under the name Cruz Roja Te Escucha, (“The Red Cross Listens to You”), to centralize feedback from communities across the country. Within five months, the number of people reaching out grew significantly across every channel.
“Cruz Roja Te Escucha is not only a communication channel. It is a place where community voices turn into humanitarian action, where every message becomes an opportunity to respond with humanity.”
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