Ordinary people are sharing extraordinary stories about surviving Ebola via an interactive mobile app launched by the multimedia campaign, #ISurvivedEbola, which originated in West Africa, according to a CNN video.

Survivors in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone will be given smartphones by Microsoft founder and U.S. philanthropist Paul G. Allen, NBC reports. They’ll be able to document their stories, share them with a large audience and exchange tips on how to cope thanks to a mobile app that’s available to the public.

“It’s true you can die from Ebola but its also true you can survive,” one young woman told CNN. “It never occurred to me that I would survive Ebola. You’re more convinced you’re going to die.” She did what doctors told her, drank water and took the medicine. Of nine family members, six died including her father in a bed next to her.

Stories like hers offer hope that the disease can be contained and overcome, and that individuals can and do survive, CNN reported.

Allen’s Microsoft foundation committed $100 million to fight the disease. UNICEF, the U.N. children’s agency, is collaborating on the project, NBC reports.

Piloted in Guinea on Jan. 5, the #ISurvivedEbola mobile app is the latest development by the campaign to lessen the stigma associated with the virus and deliver public health information in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, Engineering&Technology Magazine reports.

Camara Fantaoulen, the first Ebola survivor in Guinea, said, “Yes, I survived Ebola, thanks to the help of the brave healthcare workers who treated me. And I’ve learned that together, we can defeat this virus and protect our families and communities,” Engineering&Technology Magazine reports.

Survivors’ stories will be shared through multiple channels including international media and online platforms, documented with video, audio and print.

Part of the #TackleEbola initiative, the #ISurvivedEbola campaign was funded by Seattle-based Vulcan Productions. Vulcan general manager and creative director Carole Tomko, said, “The new digital components of the campaign extend our reach beyond West Africa, allowing these very moving, personal stories to be seen and heard globally,” according to Engineering&Technology.