trellyz human educational mesh network

Across West Africa there are large numbers of people on the move. UNHCR has estimated that in 2022 there will be 11.4 million displaced people in West and Central Africa, including 7 million internally displaced (IDPs). People are displaced for a number of reasons, including to flee conflict, violence, poverty, climate change, and to seek better opportunities, all of which contribute to the problem we are trying to solve. 

More than five out of eight migrants from Western Africa continue to stay within the region, which consists of both origin and transit countries as migration patterns evolve. Within these high numbers are particularly vulnerable populations, including children and young people who account for 42% of all forcibly displaced people in the world.

In addition to the challenges of migration, young people on the move, including unaccompanied minors, experience disruption and instability within their learning and school experiences. As they are often on the move, young people are not able to regularly attend school or learn in a classroom, and often their learning is overshadowed by more critical problems they face throughout their migration journey. This ensures they do not have the opportunity to learn life skills or gain a formal education, which can affect them throughout the rest of their adolescent and adult life. When traveling across borders and in rural areas on the move, young people face a lack of connectivity which can prevent them from being able to access online education in the meantime. 

Many young people can face problems with their psycho-social well-being, not only due to the trauma they may experience throughout their displacement, but also due to the instability, learning disruption and missed opportunities to interact with peers. 

With increasing numbers of disasters, both man made and natural, the numbers of young people that are forcibly displaced continues to increase, expanding the scale of the problem. 

RefAid is a multilingual mobile app and information distribution platform. It shows critical and life supporting services available nearby from trusted/vetted nonprofits, NGOs and other aid entities. Young people on the move can use RefAid to access educational-micro lessons, to help bridge their learning gaps. The portable, pocket curriculum is designed to be self-service so that users can select content that best suits their own needs. 

The RefAid app works offline which makes it possible for each user who has intermittent connectivity and a device, to download micro-lessons and store for personal access. This also means they can share with others through a human educational mesh network. Young people that have device and connectivity access will act as ‘Digital Envoys’ and store information and educational content, to serve as resource hubs for their communities. Providing them with these tools will broaden access and opportunities for remote learning, and address the need for flexible education across the region.

In addition to traditional subject matter, the educational content will also include subjects that are relevant to the young person’s journey and social-emotional learning, to help them cope and adapt to their changing (and often traumatic) situation. In addition to educational content, RefAid also provides a digital central repository of services and resources across a range of categories that support the overall well-being of app users, including health, food, water and sanitation, education and more. This means that young people will have a single place where they can find everything they need, and share this information in the same way as the micro-lessons.

With RefAid, and the human educational mesh network, we will guarantee access to quality education for young people on the move that are traditionally underserved. Self-paced and self-directed learning opportunities, along with information about availability of services and resources will promote personal growth and ensure the physical and psycho-social well-being of learners.

The RefAid Content and Communication System (the portal for service providers) includes a Learning Management System with a very simple interface that enables those with micro-lessons to upload them quickly and easily, to categorize them and to monitor usage statistics.

The RefAid App is powered by the trellyz RefAid platform, the first-ever global network of services and service providers, innovating work across organizations and borders. The platform allows agencies, organizations and educators to map, manage and publish educational content to the public, as well as information about available services and resources. The collaboration, communication tools and visibility provided across agencies and networks can improve coordination between service providers and with their clients on the move. This helps learners, and organizations to help each other.

Our target population for our solution is young people on the move, between the ages of 5 and 18, including unaccompanied minors. We will focus on those on the move along the West African migration route, especially in these four countries: Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Morocco, Senegal. Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, and Senegal are both origin and transit countries, and so have high populations of people on the move. The evolution of migration patterns over the years has turned Morocco from a country of origin to a transit and destination country, and for most is the last country before reaching Europe. 

Our target populations are under-served because they do not have access to formal education on a regular basis, and therefore lack the learning experiences that can shape their childhood, and as they grow into adulthood. In addition, they face a number of psycho-social problems due to their experiences of displacement, which can further their struggles. A personalized and self-paced learning solution is needed to better serve these populations. 

Our solution aims to address the needs of our target populations by overcoming the challenges brought by disrupted schooling. Our solution will provide young people that do not have access to formal education, with the opportunity to learn. We will provide access to micro-lessons and short learning experiences to bridge their learning gaps and missed foundational milestones, whilst also allowing them to develop skills they need to thrive in the 21st century. This access to information and education will enable young people to develop academic and creative interests and skills, and equip them with the knowledge they need to make better decisions about their learning and wellbeing.

Due to the nature of the human educational mesh network, our solution will not only serve those that have direct access to a mobile phone and connectivity, but also those that are without and unconnected. Therefore our solution will address the needs of young people on the move that often find themselves without the resources or technology to access online education. 

To understand the needs of the people we serve, we work closely with implementation partners that are present on the ground in our operating countries. For this project we will work in collaboration with the Diocesan Delegation of Migration (DDM) who have an existing presence in our target countries, and tremendous experience of working with people on the move. They have close relationships with our target populations so can work with other local partners to develop our solution to make sure it is meeting their needs. 

One way that we engage our target populations as we continue to develop our solution is through workshops and focus groups. For example with our partner in Morocco, DDM, have conducted many focus groups with migrant and vulnerable communities in Morocco to gain feedback about the app from our target populations. We received positive feedback from the app users, who praised the simple user interface and functionality of the app. Accessibility and inclusion were topics addressed in these focus groups and as a result we worked with DDM to improve the functionality of the app. We introduced a text-to-speech feature, which allows services to be read aloud to app users, increasing accessibility for those with low literacy and digital literacy. We have also been gathering their input to develop the ideas behind the educational content for the app. This shows how the useability and design of RefAid has been influenced by the ideas and feedback from our target populations.

The trellyz team has expertise, talent and knowledge that helps to excel our solution. We are currently working with more than 8,000 aid organizations, nonprofits, NGOs and government entities in 41 countries so we have a vast network of partners who can participate in this initiative. Our team’s knowledge areas include software development, responsive product design, international crisis response, disaster risk reduction, protracted displacement management, and humanitarian aid management. All of these areas reflect our understanding of how to best implement our solution to serve our target populations. 

We are applying to Solve to join a powerful network of leaders across industries and sectors, that will help us to build our existing network and to form relationships with potential partners, collaborators, and funders. We would also like to receive mentorship and support from the community experts and key industry leaders, to help us develop, improve and scale our solution over time. 

Guidance with promotion and marketing will aid us in overcoming market barriers in order to reach our intended audiences (educators, service providers and target populations) increasing the success of the project. As our target populations are often hard to reach, we could collaborate with Solve to find the most efficient and effective modes of communication. We would also appreciate guidance to make sure that the format of content (service information and educational modules), and the human educational mesh network, aligns with the customs, beliefs and culture of our target populations. 

With funding from Solve, we could make the platform available and free to all stakeholders, and then work in parallel to find additional funding partners and other ways of creating sustainability. This could include forming potential partnerships with businesses and brands that would benefit from association and exposure (sponsorship or marketing) to the many people RefAid will be serving. Solve would help us to execute our plan to expand our existing solution, and scale the addition of the micro-lessons through our educational module.

The RefAid platform is innovative because it is the first-ever global network of services and service providers, to work across organizations and borders, with the only mobile app that combines services, resources and educational content in one place. Our first mover advantage and global reputation uniquely position us for success.

The technology enabled human educational mesh network is unique because it focuses on providing access to education and broadcasting it to the greatest of people, without being dependent on the end users having their own access to technology. Due to the innovative dissemination of content through the human educational mesh network, young people within our target populations can rely on access to education through those who have devices and/or connectivity. This will create a catalytic effect and exponentially increase the number of people that can access micro-lessons to bridge the gap from their lack of formal education. 

Providing micro-lessons through a mobile app that works offline is an innovative approach to overcome the challenges that young people on the move face. It means that young people that have experienced disrupted education, can still access information and learn skills that will help them to thrive. This approach enables personalized learning for individuals that can complete the micro-lessons in their own time and pace. In addition to educational content they will also be able to access information about social services that will aim to improve their overall well-being and quality of life. 

Since our solution does not require investment in any additional technology, but relies on the current set of users with access to technology to spread the educational micro-lessons, we expect this to change the educational sector aimed at those affected by migration. We think our solution will have a positive impact on the lives of target populations that use our app, providing them with personal agency as they overcome disruption challenges and grow into adulthood.

Working with strategic partners is a critical capacity of our innovation, and our network building expertise sets us apart from other solution providers. trellyz has a proven ability to work in collaboration with governments, service providers and community organizations. Our easy-to-use interface, quick onboarding, and SaaS model allow for rapid scale and greater efficiency in any context.

Our solution will have a transformational impact on the lives of our target populations by providing them access to educational content that they would not normally be able to receive due to their life as migrants.  

trellyz will focus on the following impact goals for the next year, and the following five years: 

1. Reduce the barriers that prevent young people on the move from reaching key learning milestones and opportunities.

2. Strengthen knowledge, practical skills, competencies, and experiential learning opportunities for our target populations

3. Provide access to life saving services which will support the target populations and allow them to be open to learning experiences

 To achieve these goals, we will: 

1. Configure the trellyz platform and RefAid app to ingest and publish educational micro-lessons

2. Identify educational content creators. This will include individuals educators and organizations that create relevant and appropriate micro-lessons, as well as importing existing content from some of the Internet's leading Open Educational Resources (OER) sites through open source/APIs

3. Work with partners on the ground serving young people on the move, to determine types of initial educational content

4. Conduct outreach to NGOs (local, national, international) and if appropriate, government education ministries, to build our network of service provider partners. This will be to add any educational content and support service information to the app, as well as collaborating to recruit other educators and promote the app to their beneficiaries. 

We will measure our impact, progress and outcomes by using a number of Key Performance Indicators. In addition we will work closely with our partners to conduct focus groups in order to receive feedback and improve our implementation practices. Some of our key indicators include: 

• Number of service provider users on the platform

• Number of educators uploading educational content to the Learning Management module

• Number of downloads of the RefAid app

• Number of services available through the app

• Number of self-content micro-courses available on the platform

• Number and location of services information accessed

• Locations and populations served by type and providers

• Number of micro-lessons share digitally (through text or email)

• Number of micro-lessons given by learners to other members of their community

Using the RefAid app, users can self-assess their work, and including assessments within the micro-lessons will help learners and their educational partners to understand where the learning gaps are and where progress can be improved.

Currently, young people that are on the move and have been forcibly displaced are under-resourced for continuous learning. They face disruption to schooling while being on the move, and they can face barriers to access to education due to their legal status, and language challenges. This means that many young people are left without being able to attend school in a classroom, with a lack of connectivity and low numbers of devices widening this educational gap. This leads to fewer opportunities, and can have an impact on their psycho-social well-being. 

RefAid provides micro-lessons to young people on the move that have been affected by migration, including unaccompanied minors. This includes educational content that they can access on a self-service basis, in addition to accessing information about available services that will support their learning and overall well-being. 

Our immediate goals are to provide educational content that increases learning opportunities for our target population, so they have consistent access even when they experience disruption to formal education. These immediate goals link to our long-term outcomes, with the aim to bridge the educational divide for young people affected by migration and displacement. We expect our outcomes to include improved learning opportunities, equipping our target population with the skills and knowledge for their journey, job prospects and foundational skills for their everyday life as they grow into adulthood. As well as for individuals, our solution aims to improve the coordination and reach of organizations and educators that will use the RefAid platform. 

After speaking to partners and organizations working with our target populations, we have found that there is a need for educational content that can work completely offline. In order to support the well-being of young people in all aspects of their life, our app provides information about available support services in addition to the educational content. This ensures the young people have all the information they need, accessible in a central place - a mobile app. Our Human Educational Mesh Network approach provides the innovation to leverage technology to broaden access for remote learning and training amongst more young people.

The trellyz RefAid platform is a cloud-based, Software as a Service (SaaS) model that is scalable and affordable. It consists of a web-based portal, that works on all modern browsers, for service providers, government, NGOs to collaborate and coordinate with each other. The system has granular roles and permissions and allows administrators to easily create users, roles, groups. 

The platform allows service providers to manage and publish content into the mobile app. The mobile app, RefAid, is a geo-location based app with categories of services and educational modules that can be geo-fenced (available to people in certain locations) or made available to anyone with the connecting mobile app. The mobile app is lightweight and works on Android and iOS (iPhone) phones, and works offline. 

The Learning Management module is built on the existing RefAid platform, and the learning micro-lessons will be accessible via the app similarly to the existing information about critical services and resources. 

The human educational mesh network will enable the young people with intermittent connectivity and devices, to synchronize content when online, accomplish learning goals, and participate in surveys to help improve the system and create additional and relevant content. The educational and service content is stored on our hosted servers and is synchronized the next time the user reconnects. They will then be able to share this information with other people in their community, both digitally and verbally. Members of the mesh network can also track the number of times micro-lessons have been accessed by the user or shared with other learners, providing valuable data in the platform’s data dashboards.

trellyz was founded by a black American female, with native American heritage and the management team of the company is majority female. We have recently hired a recently escaped Afghan woman, currently a refugee in Pakistan, to work on our team. We use this lens and lived experience to encourage diversity and inclusion, in hopes of creating greater equality in all of our projects and partner relationships. Through years of experience with RefAid in regions where certain minority groups face persecution, the trellyz team has become acutely aware, and highly practiced, in taking precautions that protect vulnerable populations and promote diversity and equity. 

trellyz is careful to select locally led partner organizations that not only have expertise in the project context, but also have strong principles and ethical practices regarding inclusion. We are focused and committed to supporting the decisions made by our partners in our chosen contexts, as they are situated on the ground working directly with our target populations. 

The baseline research and work we will conduct during the pilot stage of this project, and the quarterly evaluation and monitoring, will take into account the voices of those who are particularly marginalized. This will help us to improve the results and impact through the design, implementation and adaptation of RefAid, to ensure that their needs are addressed appropriately and make sure they are at the center of some of the most important decisions.

Our solution brings value to our target populations by providing young people on the move with a mobile app where they can access educational content to overcome the barriers they have faced with disrupted formal education. The mobile app brings additional value by also providing information about available support services in the same place. 

The trellyz platform that powers the mobile app, brings secondary value to the people that serve our target populations, organizations and educators, by providing them with the ability to coordinate and disseminate their educational and service content. This helps them to directly reach their beneficiaries and save time and resources. The solution benefits our target populations by providing them with informational and learning opportunities to help them thrive. 

In order to cover the costs of our solution, and to ensure we can reach as many people as possible, we make our software available through a license fee to cover the cost of our technology and implementation. Our pricing model consists of a flat annual fee that replaces per user-based pricing in order to incentivize mass adoption. The platform provides access to stakeholders in unlimited locations with unlimited users. We typically license the platform to government agencies, or to a key organization partner, who are responsible for onboarding other educational content and organizations offering services in a particular context.

The main costs associated with our solution, and that the license fee covers, are the upkeep and continuous development of the technology platform and app (we continue to improve functionality and add new features), human resources to make sure we have employees to manage the projects, and any resources needed for implementation.

As a technology solution provider, we have two sources of funding – 1) in partnership with lead NGOs where we are the technology partner and they have source funding to pay our license fee for our software, and 2) direct sales to government and NGO funding agencies. We license our software in order to cover the costs of our technology, work and implementation. The pricing of our flat license fee is based on the context, country (countries) and whether it is used by a single organization, or a network. 

Our platform has been commercialized and our pricing has high margins, which helps to build towards long term sustainability. Our software license fees are increasingly being seen by donors as a way of providing governance and transparency among the grantees, NGOs, who are receiving funding to provide services. This adds to the financial sustainability because the fees are seen as a tiny percentage of large projects in order to facilitate greater effectiveness and impact.

RefAid and the Human Educational mesh network are part of trellyz, a profitable company, so that minimum service is already assured. We are also currently seeking to raise investment capital to help scale our operations. 

An example of revenue is that we have received funding through a project with the Diocesan Delegation of Migration (DDM) in Morocco. They, along with other organizations in a consortium, have received funding from the European Union to license our platform (€50,000 annual license fee for unlimited nonprofit organization users, unlimited app users - in the migration context). The platform is used in a humanitarian setting, for all migrant facing organizations in the country to use with an unlimited number of users, and end users of the app.