Kathijah is a 16-year-old Rohingya refugee who has been sent by her parents to Malaysia with her older brother, Ishak, after life in their village in Rakhine State, Myanmar, became unsafe.

They are travelling on foot in the forest along the Thai-Malaysian border when they encounter a raid and are separated.

Kathijah tries to message and call Ishak but her phone runs out of battery. She is afraid because she is now alone.

This is the start of a fictional story told through ‘Finding Home’, a new smartphone application that enables users to experience a refugee’s personal journey of coming to and surviving in Malaysia.

“The story of every refugee is here, in their phones.

“For refugees, smartphones are essential tools for survival. That’s how they find shelter, connect with one another, find food.

“We wanted to tell the story of refugees through (their) phone… to help people understand what refugees go through,” said Graham Drew of Grey Malaysia at the launch of the application at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) centre in Kuala Lumpur today...