- Rawan Odeh is the social-impact and partnerships manager for the software company Monday.com.
- Monday.com gave its tech to Ukrainian refugee camps to coordinate aid efforts as people evacuate.
- Odeh was one of 30 employees at the Ukraine-Poland border. She shared her observations with Insider.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Rawan Odeh, a 26-year-old social-impact and partnerships coordinator at the software firm Monday.com, about how she and her colleagues helped Ukrainian refugee camps use Monday.com's technology for aid efforts. It's been edited for length and clarity.
Last month, the company I work for, Monday.com, decided to step up and help Ukrainian refugee camps with its software.
My colleagues at Monday.com used our software to create solutions within hours and days that can provide operational management for refugee centers or the displacement centers that Ukrainian refugees are passing through as they flee.
We're now exploring and in conversation with different nongovernmental organizations and governmental entities about how we can scale the solution, because it addresses that core need that everyone who's coming from the border doesn't want to see chaos. They don't want to see lines and lines. They want to understand where they're going and what resources are provided.
I'm based in Washington, DC, and lead social impact for the company. As I talked to my colleagues who first went to help, I began to understand the chaos and the scope of the suffering of the women and children. I knew I wanted to help.
Eventually I decided to go to the border of Ukraine and Poland to help, no questions about it.
When I first came here, shortly after the crisis began, I didn't know how long I would stay. But I'm supporting the effort until we can provide our software to every center.
Working at the refugee camps requires empathy
My day starts at 6 a.m., and it's often 3 a.m. before I leave the camps. Often I'll witness people breaking down — but to see that is just the first step of a refugee's experience reminds me of why I'm here.
In the most direct way, we were stepping into a global crisis, on the border of a war zone, and risk comes hand in hand with conflict. The biggest risk was what would happen if the war escalated and bombs and strikes reached the border where we were based. We felt the risks a few times, like when reports of airstrikes close to the border popped up on our phone notifications.
But we volunteered to come with the understanding of what the risk would look like. I am Palestinian, and some of my colleagues with me were Israeli. We are no strangers to war and conflict, and I think our personal experiences with conflict prepared us mentally for what it meant to step into this crisis response.
Ultimately, we want every refugee who crosses the border to have the safety measures, security, organization, and calmness during a chaotic situation.
For me, all I kept thinking about were the women and children who have experienced the trauma of war — and compared to them, our risks seemed minimal.
The digital divide is real. More companies can help.
Our goal is to assist nongovernmental organizations and other volunteers helping refugees and to empower them to respond to this crisis.
There were days where we stayed 24 hours and slept in the refugee camps, and other days where we stayed 15 to 18 hours. We're there to address or troubleshoot any questions, to help make sure every volunteer understands how the software works.
Beyond that, we're exploring how we can scale the software to more camps in Poland and Moldova. On March 16, I met with nine parliamentary members from the Polish government to show them how they can potentially take the platform to different districts.
For tech companies looking for ways to help, they should work in partnership and side by side with local NGOs and governments. We could not have responded or done what we did without being there, staying in the refugee camps day by day and building trust with the local stakeholders.
I've seen the before and after. I've been able to see how confusing it was for a refugee to come into a center before there was software that was able to register and track and match drivers, and how much the technology helps alleviate that.
To see some of that risk being mitigated by the software because driver's licenses are on file and there's a background check — that, to me, shows the power of technology.
The tech sector has tremendous value to give, so don't create a barrier to stepping up and supporting.
Tech companies usually bring an efficient approach to problem-solving that can add huge value to the challenges that arise during emergencies. In times of crisis, time is often the most valuable resource for responders, and technology has the power to make operations faster.
The mission to close the digital gap is a real one, and it's not just to make things more efficient — it literally saves lives. If more companies like Monday.com can commit to closing the digital divide, I think we can be on track for a world that's more positively connected.
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