The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in collaboration with advertising agency Grey Malaysia, has launched the Finding Home app – an interactive app that gives users a glimpse into the daily struggles of Rohingya refugees who flee political persecution back home.

UNHCR representative Richard Towle said the app, devised and built by Grey Malaysia, features the life of a fictional 16-year-old Rohingya girl named Kathijah who flees her homeland and struggles to survive in Malaysia.

“When launched, the app effectively takes over the user’s phone and recreates the OS of a smartphone belonging to Kathijah,” Towle said in a press conference after the launch today.

He added that the Finding Home app allows users to engage in Kathijah’s real-time experience as a refugee through text messages, video calls and a picture gallery.

According to a Reuters report, one conversation involves her talking to a friend about how she is taking classes in English and Malay.

“This app will allow the viewer to walk a mile in a refugee’s shoes in order to understand what they go through every day to survive,” Towle said.

“Never underestimate the power of awareness because apparently when you become a refugee, you become invisible. So this app addresses the need for awareness.”

Grey Malaysia executive creative director Graham Drew said the app used the idea of interactive storytelling to provide users with a more realistic experience.

“By using the familiar functions of your smartphone as a storytelling device, the experience becomes uniquely personal and more impactful.”

Drew said the app was constructed based on a series of interviews with refugee youths and adults in Malaysia to provide insight into the everyday challenges faced by refugees.

It also includes links to the UNCHR website, where users can directly donate, apply to volunteer or find out more about the refugee situation in Malaysia.

Towle said they had chosen the Rohingya because they comprised the highest number of refugees in Malaysia.

There are reportedly over 150,000 refugees in Malaysia. The majority of them are from Myanmar, 56,000 of whom are Rohingya.

Over 35,000 of the refugees are children below 18, and many experience similar stories as told through the Finding Home app.

The app is available for download at Google PlayStore and is expected to be available at the Apple App Store soon.