May 2013-Kathmandu, Nepal. Beneficiary name: Bishnu Maya Khadgi. The Mercy Corps ELEVATE emergency assistance pilot program using mobile phones to deliver vouchers. A quiet revolution is underway to streamline the delivery of assistance to people in crisis — using the most prolific technology in the world. The reach of mobile devices has grown exponentially in recent years — it’s estimated that of the world’s seven billion people, six billion have access to a mobile phone — presenting an incredible opportunity to consider new solutions to traditional aid challenges. We’ve been part of the mobile money revolution for some time, and now our latest efforts are being tested in Nepal — one of the poorest countries in the world. Poverty runs rampant across Nepal, a country in transition after 10 years of conflict. The average Nepalese earns less than $1.30 a day and more than a quarter of the population survives below the poverty line. In addition, Nepal’s geographical location puts it at high risk of a major earthquake, especially in dense urban areas where the population keeps increasing exponentiallyhas tripled in recent years. This spring, we deliver humanitarian assistance to the world’s hungry and victims of natural and manmade disasters – a technological revolution that employs existing mobile phone technologies to deliver aid to people in crisis.. Mercy Corps has been part of this revolution for some time now, and its latest program has launched in Nepal – one of the poorest countries in the world. In the Spring of 2013 Mercy Corps partnered with MasterCard Worldwide to pilot a mobile voucher distribution system here that efficiently delivers aid to the poorfunds through data applications and SMS messages. In the event of a disaster in Nepal, the system would be able to quickly help those who have no other safety nets. During the pilot phase, theProviding electronic vouchers assistance to households allows a seamless transitionseamlessly transfer of money to be used for basic food staples like lentils, rice and oil, and supplies. This program targets households in Kathmandu’s urban slum areas that largely rely on meager income from jobs such as garbage sorting or work in crude slaughterhouses to make a living.