trellyz – human educational mesh network

People on the move, women and girls and people in rural areas, frequently have little access to basic education because they lack power, connectivity, devices, and digital literacy. 

The RefAid mobile app provides access to critical information about services that support the well-being of users. It works offline so can be used by digital envoys, those with intermittent connectivity and devices, to disseminate micro-lessons to people with low or no connectivity. This human educational mesh network gives educators and aspiring learners opportunities to create, consume and efficiently route a portable pocket curriculum to and from educators, individuals and communities.

Giving people, "nodes" in the network, tools to relay micro-lessons to others – face-to-face and digitally – will bridge the online-to-offline-to-analog gaps, helping scale education with no additional investment in technology. 

Like a communal plate of food, unconnected communities will share access to both available social services and universal education. 

People on the move, women and girls and people in rural areas lack access to classrooms, education, power, reliable internet and have low literacy, digital and otherwise. Over 30% of youth in sub-saharan Africa are out of school. There are more than 280 million people on the move in the world, of which more than 25 million people are in Africa, largely without teachers or classrooms. More than 50% of people in the world live in rural locations, 650 million of whom live in Sub Saharan Africa. Women and girls on the move or in rural areas are particularly impacted.

The digital divide is even more dramatic when it comes to education and that has only been exacerbated by COVID, where most of the classrooms that existed have been shuttered. Conflicts, natural disasters and public health emergencies create additional burdens on communities that have been marginalized in most economic spheres and this exposes them to perpetual poverty.

Lack of connectivity means educational methods need to be both portable and transferable to potential learners, and without internet or devices.The challenge then becomes one of empowering community members to become impromptu teachers, part of a human educational mesh network.

RefAid app is a multi-lingual, information distribution app that aspiring students can use to access self-paced universal educational micro-lessons in low or no connectivity areas. The portable, pocket curriculum makes it possible for each user who has intermittent connectivity and a device, to download micro-lessons and store for personal access and share with others through a human educational mesh network.

Micro-lesson content will come from two sources: 1) import of licensed content from some of Internet's leading Open Educational Resources sites 2) creation of educational micro-lessons by educators and service providers using the trellyz Content Management System’s Learning Management module. This content could include courses in literacy, numeracy, languages, health, and existing content from sources such as African Story Books, Khan Academy, and Pratham Books.

Self-paced and self-directed learning opportunities, along with information about availability of social services offline, will promote personal growth and ensure the physical and mental health of people through crisis support services and informational resources.

RefAid is a cloud-based, SaaS platform, and both the app and content can be shared offline between devices, service providers and their beneficiaries. Course content is stored on our hosted servers and is synchronized the next time the user reconnects.

Our solution will focus on three target populations: people on the move, women and girls, and those living in rural areas. These groups have many educational and life challenges in common. If women and girls and those in rural areas do not attain a higher level of education, and therefore opportunities, they could well become people on the move – forced to leave their homes for opportunities elsewhere. 

The focus of this project is to provide opportunities to teach, learn and receive elementary education, for people without access to formal education. The micro-lessons and short learning experiences will help the target populations develop the skills and competencies they need to thrive in the 21st century.

Including the learning opportunities in an app designed to provide access to information about humanitarian and social services (health care, GBV support, legal and administrative support, food...) that support the target population's safety and well-being will make learning more accessible.

Self-directed, self-contained experiential education and social-emotional support can be scaled to benefit the most under-served and to ensure equality of opportunity for all if available offline. Being able to access educational content in offline environments breaks down a potential barrier to learning. Micro-lessons will ensure learners can access concise training material that works within their time constraints, on their chosen device, and without internet connectivity.

The education deprivation in Sub Saharan Africa is driven by various factors, including insurgency, economic barriers and socio-cultural norms and practices that discourage attendance in formal education. 

During the pilot stage of our solution, we will target those living in Nigeria and Kenya, where these populations are found in high numbers. It will enable us to improve the project based on different cultural and situational differences. In a later phase we will expand our solution across countries within Sub-Saharan Africa, starting in the West African migration route countries where we are already operating (or plan to be) and expanding from there.

People on the move share and women and girls in many contexts share characteristics of those in rural areas, with the primary difference being that people on the move usually have no access to formal classrooms. These characteristics include:

1.    Lack digital literacy

2.    Lack resources for continuous learning

3.    Low or now access to connectivity

4.    Low number of devices, and some of those available include feature phones

5.    Inconsistent access to electricity

6.    Need for curriculum in small bites 

7.    Need for general social and public services to support their basic needs – health info and care, psycho-social support, help with work and volunteering, food, shelter, etc

8.    Restricted movement due to conflict, gender, pandemic and disability of teachers or educators, and others who might otherwise be available to offer educational support 

People on the move

There are currently about 25 million refugees in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the majority of this population missing out on a fundamental human right - the right to a quality education. Refugees and people on the move are often at a lower class level of education than their age and have ongoing educational needs. According to the UNHCR, a refugee is twice as likely to be out of school as a non-refugee youth. 

RefAid will enable people on the move to become self-directed and self-paced learners, through access to various micro-lessons and short learning experiences. Having increased accessibility to these educational resources will empower them to learn and accomplish modules throughout their journey, and will encourage them to teach others along their migration route. Our solution will enable participation in equitable education that contributes to resilience and prepares them for participation in cohesive societies.

Women and girls

There are currently around 34 million girls of primary school age that are out of school around the world. Women and girls often face disadvantages in their communities. There are various barriers that are faced by women in girls when accessing education, including poverty, child marriage and gender-based violence. In some places, schools do not meet the basic needs and requirements of women and girls, and often teaching practices are not gender-responsive and result in gender gaps in learning and skills development. 

Offering access to portable micro-lessons will allow for the women and girls to learn in a safe environment, where their education is self-directed and self-paced. Investing in women and girls’ education will positively impact the lives of the target population as well as transforming communities. Girls who receive an education are more likely to earn higher incomes, and build better futures for themselves and their families, leading to healthy, productive lives. Girls’ education reduces inequality, contributing to more stable, resilient societies . 

Rural communities

More than 650 million people live in rural communities in Sub Saharan Africa, more than 60% of the total. Fewer than 4 in 10 people (37 percent) across Africa currently have internet access. Roughly 850 million people remain unconnected across the continent as a whole, compared to just over half a billion who do have internet access. The unconnected tend to be poorer, have lower levels of education and live in rural areas. Due to social, economic, political and environmental reasons, people in rural communities often migrate to urban and semi-urban areas - rural-out migration. They often arrive in these new areas and find they still lack the necessary education and skills to thrive, motivating many to migrate across country borders in search of better opportunities. But compounding this lack of preparedness for their new environs is the lack of social support.

While we cannot address the challenge of bridging the persistent digital divide we can help bridge the educational divide through our human educational mesh network while others focus on increasing internet coverage and adoption. Those who participate as learners through our nodes or human routers, will build their educational and digital literacy, and will be prepared for a more connected future. More importantly, for those who choose to migrate to nearby near urban and urban areas, they will bring with them greater knowledge that can help them thrive Access to support services and resources from local, national and international aid organizations, through the RefAid app (made available by those connected) will increase the resiliency, self-sufficiency, and help them live a productive and fulfilling life.

How we will address the needs of our target populations: 

The trellyz RefAid platform and app is built on a global network of service providers using the tools of the platform to manage their own services, refer their clients and to coordinate responses. The organizations involved in helping our target populations – people on the move, women and girls and people in rural communities – will provide insight about their clients’ educational and service needs. Our partners are currently working with these populations and bringing the many years of their experience to bear in this project. They are continually gaining insights about those they work with through focus groups and regular inquiry and feedback from their clients. Further, these partner organizations can add their wisdom and knowledge about these issues in the system’s knowledge base. Most importantly, they can help in the creation of educational content and help promote the app in remote and unconnected communities.

Once the learners or human routers or “nodes” (people with devices and intermittent connectivity) have the app on their devices, we can use the app as a data collection tool by surveying users through simple questionnaires and ratings. 

How the solution works to address the needs to our target population:

Human Educational Mesh Network

In traditional computer science, “A mesh network is a local network topology in which the infrastructure nodes connect to as many other nodes as possible and cooperate with one another to efficiently route data. 

In our new model of a human educational mesh network: 

Human Nodes – Each node is a human – and each individual transfers value. It works similarly to the internet, with people connecting to each other in groups wherever they are, each sharing what they have available or are interested in. 

Those with intermittent connectivity and devices – can download small self-contained, micro-lessons in subjects such as math, language, health, geography, etc, and store them for personal access or sharing with others. 

Sharing network – Giving those with intermittent connectivity and devices – the human nodes – the tools to relay educational modules to others - both face-to-face and digitally. This will bridge the online-to-offline-to-analog gaps, increase wider access to education across our target populations, and help scale with no additional investment in technology. 

Peer to peer - Our solution also facilitates offline peer-to-peer sharing of educational content between devices. Educators and learners can micro-lessons via the application to others with devices but without connectivity through a Wi-Fi hotspot on one device that can be joined by others. This creates a direct link between the devices without using an internet connection so no data usage is necessary. With this, users of learning modules without limitations on file size.

Our technology-enabled solution is addressing the challenge of providing greater access to education for those who may/may not have previously had any access to classrooms – people on the move, women and girls and people living in rural communities.

Our approach will increase the engagement of learners in remote, hybrid, and physical environments whether they have access to connectivity or devices, by allowing them to rely on micro-lessons being shared with them through the human educational mesh network. We are re-imagining ways of supporting all aspiring learners, helping them to develop the skills and competencies they need to thrive.

trellyz’s RefAid app is currently in 30 countries including Europe, the US and Morocco since its launch in 2016. Over 5,000 organizations (NGOs and government service providers) are currently part of the network using the platform to map, manage and publish their services to the public. RefAid app has become an established tool for people around the world to use during their migration journey and recently won the Padre Arrupe Human Rights Award.

We are configuring the trellyz Content and Communication Management System to include a Learning Management module where educators and other service providers can add micro-lessons to be made available through the app. 

We will work with our partner, DDM in Morocco where RefAid is already being used, to pilot the educational component with women and girls, people on the move, and from rural communities. Then we will extend the project through our network in Kenya and Nigeria. 

Our solution provides a significantly unique approach to providing educational resources, for people on the move, women and girls, and those in rural areas. It will enable target populations to access equitable, quality education that contributes to escaping the cycle of poverty and building resiliency. The technology-enabled human educational mesh network is unique because it focuses on providing access to education through technology, broadcasting it to the greatest of people, without being dependent on the end users having their own access to technology.

Current technology-based education solutions do not always reach particularly vulnerable communities, like our target populations, and therefore are not effective. Since this solution does not require an investment in any additional technology, but relies on the current set of users with access to technology to spread the educational modules – human nodes - there is a catalytic effect. The mobile application works offline, and it provides consistent access to modularized universal education. Because the learners are not required to have their own access to connectivity or devices but can share in the learning experience through those who do, the number of people touched by or accessing educational modules can be exponential. 

In addition to the educational network, through the RefAid app, our target populations can access information and resources about social services offering help across a range of categories, including health, food, toilets/showers, jobs and volunteering. Creating access to service information builds resilience and personal agency for vulnerable populations, encouraging self-help in all aspects of their lives.

Organizations - our primary direct relationship is with service providers. In a sense our product/platform is B2B. We support aid organizations, government and other service providers to deliver services to their clients. Our trellyz platform is used by more than 5,000 organizations today (with an average of 2-3 people per organization), many of whom operate in our target areas in Sub-Saharan Africa. In one year we will be adding at least another 250 organizations. In 5 years we would expect to operating in more than 50 countries with a total of more than 10,000 organizations using the software, and more than a total of 100,000 individual organization users of the software.

App end users - while we do not market directly to, or interface directly with, end users are our primary beneficiary through the organizations that interact with them. We currently have 30,000 app users. In 1 year we would expect to have 1 million end users – either using the app directly or benefiting from access to the app through human nodes, community leaders or organizations. In 5 years we expect to have at least 20 million people directly using the app. While this project is intended initially to serve populations of people on the move, women and girls, and rural communities, in Kenya and Nigeria, we expect to expand the project to these populations across Sub Saharan Africa, and to be further rolled out throughout Asia and Latin America.

To measure our impact, we will track usage metrics on the trellyz service provider platform and the RefAid application. The RefAid app will collect log data, with respect to the interactions built within the mobile learning course. The trellyz platform will collect key information about the service provider usage of the platform.

Our solution will not only ensure continued learning for people on the move, but also ensure women and girls and people in rural communities gain competencies through the micro-lessons.

In order to measure impact and progress in this project, we plan to use many Key Performance Indicators that will be designed in conjunction with our partners. These indicators will be in addition to our standard measurements:

• Number of service provider users on the platform

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

• Number of services available through the platform on the app

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

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

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

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

• Number of downloads of RefAid app

• Number and location of services information accessed

• Number and location of organization information accessed

• Locations and populations served

7 people are working on our team full time, and we have 3 amazing advisors and several consultants who help when needed, and 3 or more interns full or part-time depending on the time of year.

Shelley, trellyz’s female founder, created RefAid, the first ever global network of service providers and defecto app for migrants, and has a track record in rapidly scaling its operations. trellyz has developed business processes for engaging with the humanitarian and government sectors, and has demonstrated its ability to train partners in these processes for greater efficiency and impact in whatever context.

Diallo Mamadou Alpha, trellyz’s project manager in the region, has more than 30 years of experience in the field of health, education, child protection. He has experience working in the humanitarian context in Africa (Mali, Niger, Guinea, DRC).

Alvar Sánchez, Project Promoter for Diocesan Delegation of Migration (DDM) in Nador (Morocco) has experience working closely with our target populations, especially women and girls affected by migration. He has also worked with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) across Africa, and therefore has a deep understanding of the experiences faced by our target populations.

For this project our local partner is Lamuka Digital Hub that is championing connecting the unconnected in rural Kenya, focuses on Bridging the Digital Divide and training teachers and students in digital literacy and imparting STEM competencies to students.

We are also working with CleverMinds Educational Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing low-cost and free education in Nigeria, for orphans, vulnerable children, and those in rural areas across. The organization's expertise and commitment to education will provide us with excellent input and ideas, to guide us through the implementation of this project.

trellyz was founded by a black American female, with native American heritage and the management team of the company is majority female. 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 prosecution, 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 this 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 contacts, 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.

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 mentoring, strategic advice, monitoring and evaluation support from the community experts. This would help trellyz to improve and build on our existing solution and prepare us to scale and expand our business over time. The Solve Community can help to broadcast and spread the word about our projects, through media exposure and at their conferences, which will have a positive impact on our future work. 

With funding from Solve and their award partners, we can 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. It may be that Solve partners would be able to help find the best models for a self-sustaining initiative.

Funding for promotion and marketing will aid us in reaching our intended audiences - both service providers and target populations, increasing the success of the project. As our target populations (low-income, rural and refugee communities, women and children) are often hard to reach, the Solve community could guide and assist us to find the most efficient and effective modes of communication.

We would love to have financial support for our project, and that could come from direct funding or introductions to other grant organizations or venture capital investors. This funding support would help us to reach our intended audiences, including educators, service providers and target populations, so that we can help as many people as possible. This would be achieved through marketing campaigns and communications, across a range of different platforms (social media, flyers, advertisement, etc). We have grown exclusively through viral word of mouth so far, and as well as that has gone, we could benefit from help with marketing, social and global media strategy and implementation. This would particularly be helpful as we launch this new educational component to our existing technology. 

We would appreciate any introductions to NGOs, educators, producers of online educational content, and service delivery organizations, so that we can continue to grow our network. Ultimately, this will help us to increase the quality and range of educational content and materials available through the app, improving the experience for our target populations. We would also like to connect with potential private sector partners who may have ideas or relationships about how best to get the greatest expansion to our potential customer base.

MIT faculty and initiatives would provide an incredible resource to trellyz, both its access to brain power and community of partners. We would love to create global conferences for change agents in NGOs, government and other critical stakeholders in the social service supply chain.

Future Planet Capital would be a great partner from a fund standpoint, along with their strategic partners and network, and access to human capital from leading academic institutions and the centres of innovation that surround them.

Clorox, as a global company with the dedication to positive impact, could offer us insight into how large companies may be appropriate partners for the work we are doing. Ultimately, sustainability of social service delivery in LMIC countries will rely on partnerships with the private sector, and finding ways they can benefit from exposure to the populations we serve.

We would love to partner with Amazon’s AWS Disaster Management group because it is aligned with the work we do around providing out app to populations and NGOs in crisis. We would also love to have AWS credits.

We would like to partner with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation because of their global networks, and because they are already working within the region. Their connection to NGOs and other partners who could become part of our social service provider network would be a tremendous synergistic alliance.

We qualify for this Andan Prize because we are dedicated to improving the lives of refugee communities around the world. The RefAid platform and app have become an established tool for people to use during their migration journey, encouraging self-reliance and resilience. RefAid launched in 2016 and is currently being used to help refugee communities across 24 countries.

The Andan Foundation would be a great partner in our initiatives due to our shared objectives of promoting refugee resilience, self-reliance and integration. 

People on the move are often traveling across borders and rural areas, so have little access to basic education because they lack power, connectivity, and devices.  

RefAid will enable people on the move to become self-directed learners, through access to various micro-lessons and short learning experiences. Our app, working offline, will increase accessibility to these educational resources, empowering them to learn and accomplish modules throughout their journey. Giving those with intermittent connectivity and devices – the human nodes – the tools to relay educational modules, will encourage them to teach others along their migration route. This human educational mesh network will enable participation in equitable education that contributes to their resilience, integration, and preparation for contribution in cohesive societies. 

The RefAid App will also give people on the move access to vetted information about available resources, so they can find help they need, when and where they need it. This will help build the resilience and integration among the very group that is so often excluded.

We are strongly aligned with the GM Prize. Our platform, app and entire business are dedicated to helping communities, and making education more accessible and equitable. Our innovative technology-based solution, through our human educational mesh network approach will positively impact refugees. We use the diverse lens of our team to encourage diversity and inclusion, in hopes of creating greater equality and sustainability in all our projects. Through years of experience with minority groups, the trellyz team has become highly practiced in protecting vulnerable populations and promoting inclusivity and equity. 

People on the move, women and girls and people in rural areas lack access to classrooms, education, power, reliable internet and have low literacy, digital and otherwise. RefAid will enable people to access portable micro-lessons, so they can learn in a safe environment, where their education is self-directed and self-paced. Our app working offline will increase accessibility and giving those with intermittent connectivity and devices – the human nodes – the tools to relay educational modules, will empower them to teach others in their community. This will enable participation in equitable education, positively impacting the lives of vulnerable communities.

The social and economic challenges faced by target populations can be mitigated by longer-term recovery strategies that include access to education and protection. The RefAid App will also give people access to vetted information about available resources, so they can find help when they need it. This will build the resilience of our target populations and their communities, encouraging long-term sustainability.

We qualify for this prize for two strong reasons. We are a woman founded company and want to do everything we can to improve the quality of life for women and girls. Our project is focused on helping women and girls, including those on the move and those in unconnected, remote and rural communities. Vodafone would be a wonderful partner, as our solution is mobile app based, and there could be some great opportunities within the initiative to promote Vodafone in the Sub-Saharan countries where we are rolling out this project.

The social and economic challenges faced by women and girls in communities can be mitigated by longer-term recovery strategies that include access to education and protection. RefAid will enable women and girls to access portable micro-lessons, so they can learn in a safe environment, where their education is self-directed and self-paced. Our app working offline will increase accessibility, empowering them to accomplish modules. Giving those with intermittent connectivity and devices – the human nodes – the tools to relay educational modules, will encourage them to teach others in their community.

This human educational mesh network will enable participation in equitable education, positively impacting the lives of women and girls, and communities. The RefAid App will also give women and girls access to vetted information about available resources, so they can find help when they need it. Our project will help build the resilience among the very group that is most critical for supporting the rest of their community.

We are strongly aligned with the GSR Prize, as our platform, app and entire business are dedicated to supporting education, reducing poverty and contributing to a self-sufficient and sustainable world. Our innovative technology-based solution will address and improve these three areas, through our human educational mesh network approach. 

 People on the move, women and girls and people in rural areas lack access to classrooms, education, power, reliable internet and have low literacy, digital and otherwise. This digital divide is even more dramatic when it comes to education, with conflicts and public health emergencies creating additional burdens on communities that have been marginalized and exposed to perpetual poverty.

RefAid will enable people to access portable micro-lessons, so they can learn in a safe environment, where their education is self-directed and self-paced. Our app working offline will increase accessibility, empowering them to accomplish modules. Giving those with intermittent connectivity and devices – the human nodes – the tools to relay educational modules, will encourage them to teach others in their community. This human educational mesh network will enable participation in equitable education, positively impacting the lives of vulnerable communities.

The social and economic challenges faced by target populations can be mitigated by longer-term recovery strategies that include access to education and protection. The RefAid App will also give people access to vetted information about available resources, so they can find help when they need it. This will build the resilience of our target populations and their communities, encouraging self-sufficiency and sustainability.