Selfless Solutions

Selfless Solutions is a non-profit organization working to create a future in which every African has an opportunity to reach their full potential. Selfless Solutions was founded in January 2019 by an American that now lives in Arusha, Tanzania where the organization is headquartered. Selfless Solutions is officially registered in Tanzania, Denmark, and the United States, where it is registered as a 501(c)(3) organization.

At Selfless Solutions, we bring together the resources (people, funds, technology, etc.) needed to empower African changemakers to solve the most-pressing challenges in their communities. The organization works hand-in-hand with changemakers and problem-solvers to co-create solutions that further our shared dreams for the future of the continent.

Selfless Solutions is working to become Africa’s most valued partner for generating solutions that empower people to reach their full potential. We believe that our creativity, effectiveness and spirit will make us the preferred option for changemakers and grantmakers who want to make a meaningful and lasting impact on the continent.

To fulfill this mission, Selfless Solutions is currently operating three programs: the Selfless Sponsor Program, the E-Learning English Program (E-Shuleni), and the Volunteer & Intern Program, each of them aiming for a lasting impact.

Our core values, that are purposefully embedded throughout every aspect of our work, are the following: Selflessness, Co-creation, Discipline, Transparency and Perseverance.

The Team Lead is Maxime Lelièvre, EdTech consultant for Selfless Solutions and Master student in Data Science at EPFL in Switzerland. He has been involved in the program since the beginning and contributed to most of its stages (partner research for the educational app, grant applications, design of  the implementation plan and the evaluation plan). 

He is the direct point of contact for this project and he is mostly responsible for the communication, the implementation, and the learning management systems. One part of the team being based in Tanzania and the other spread out around the globe, he is responsible for ensuring an effective collaboration between the two teams and bringing any information to the Executive Director Patrick Irwin. 

Besides his commitments as the Team Lead, he is currently mostly involved in the data collection and data analysis of the program to strengthen the evidence base of the program.

At Selfless Solutions, we believe that every person deserves an opportunity to reach their full potential and we are committed to bring people together to co-create solutions to the most critical problems facing African communities. To fulfill this mission, our team finds its strength in its direct connection with Tanzanian people as well as a network of advisors and dedicated volunteers spread across the globe.

The team based in Tanzania counts around 10 members including the Founder and Executive Director Patrick Irwin. The Board of Directors hail from Tanzania, Denmark, the United States, and several other countries.  

Leading the E-Shuleni program is Maxime Lelièvre, an aspiring Data scientist passionate about improving Education with technology. With practical experience teaching English in a Tanzanian preschool before meeting Selfless Solutions and with a strong technical background in Data science, he is well equipped to understand the local context and drive the team towards its mission.

Supporting him directly are Alice Ecarlat, a former Selfless Solution project manager intern with a strong socio-political science background, and Betsy Kindade, a retired educator with 35 years of experience in teaching and building district level administration in the United States with a special emphasis on English Language Development. For ensuring the program’s effectiveness on a daily basis, he can count on Raymond Mshomba, program manager of the program in Tanzania.

Piloting the whole organization is Patrick Irwin, Founder and Executive Director, who has been managing the different teams and providing his leadership and guidance for 5 years. He arrived in Tanzania in 2018 to volunteer and he was amazed by the desire of young people to learn despite the lack of opportunity and resources to which they had access. He immediately brought together his network to ensure these kids had access to good schools. After obtaining his Master of Public Management at Carnegie Mellon University, he decided to become a social entrepreneur and recruited young, intelligent, and creative Tanzanians to join him in his mission as well as a dedicated team of volunteers. Together, they are co-creating projects that empower Tanzanian students to reach their full potential.

Leveraging technology to overcome the English language barrier in Tanzania.

The problem our solution seeks to solve is the English literacy gap among primary school students that massively affects their chance to continue their education to the secondary level.

Tanzania is an African developing country that is experiencing significant economic growth, but where almost half of the population (44%) still lives below the poverty line. Knowing that education has a major impact on a country's development, many countries have made education a priority and Tanzania is no exception. However, there are still major problems with education that affect the potential at both individual and community level.

Tanzania has one of the lowest rates of secondary school enrollment in the world with only 31% of eligible children enrolled in secondary schools (compared to the global average of 94%) , contributing to the perpetration of the cycle of poverty. As we know, education enables people to acquire skills at school and later at university so that they can find good jobs. It also opens people's minds and helps them make choices in their daily lives. Attending secondary school increases the chances of a better standard of living: the current unemployment rate for high school dropouts is about 56 percent higher than for high school graduates, and students who complete high school earn an average of $9,245 more per year than students who do not complete high school.

Indeed, our inspiration for this project came from the daily observations of our members and discussions we had with people from the community where we work. We witnessed many motivated and capable children dropping out of school primarily because of an English language barrier. 

In fact, the issue finds its root in a switch of the medium of instruction between the primary and secondary education levels. In Tanzania, the native language of Swahili serves as the medium of instruction in public schools throughout the primary level. However, in secondary school and beyond, English is used as the language of instruction, leading many students from public primary schools to perform poorly.

This unique situation is a major cause of the high dropout rate (only 31% of eligible children are enrolled in secondary school), as many children leave primary school without even basic English knowledge. A 2017 survey found that only 15% of Standard 3 pupils and 41% of Standard 7 pupils were able to read a Standard 2 level story in English, and this has decreased since 2014 (56%). In other words, almost half of Standard 7 pupils leave primary school without basic reading skills in English. In addition, the shortage of qualified teachers in Tanzania results in pupil-teacher ratios of 45 to 1 in public primary schools and sometimes higher (especially in rural areas). This has a negative impact on students' ability to learn, especially English. 

Therefore, we hypothesized that if we could solve this one issue, the English proficiency gap between primary and secondary education, then thousands and even millions of deserving children would complete school instead of dropping out.

E-Shuleni (“Shuleni” means “at school” in Swahili), our E-learning program, started as a pilot program at Sing’isi Public Primary School in January 2024. This pilot includes approximately 90 Class 3 students, who are engaging in English E-Learning sessions. The program's timing in Class 3 is deliberate, as it allows these students to be well-prepared for the significant National Exams they will face in Class 4, a pivotal year in their education. Also, to meet the goal of sending students to the secondary level with a firm foundation in the English language, the decision was made to begin the pilot at the earliest grade possible, third grade.

In collaboration with the school leadership and to ensure the long-term impact of the program, we seamlessly integrated it into the school’s normal curriculum and schedule. The program thus consists of a one-hour E-Learning session taking place everyday, from Monday to Friday. Each student is provided with a functional tablet equipped with access to the Enuma School app, which offers individual profiles for real-time progress tracking. At Sing’isi School, Class 3 is split into two streams, allowing around 45 students to participate in E-Learning sessions at the same time. The E-Learning sessions are facilitated using the Enuma School app, which was created by Enuma Inc. 

To ensure the program runs smoothly, we have allocated resources, including a dedicated room with sufficient electricity for tablet charging and security thanks to solar panels installed in the school’s garden. The room is equipped with desks, chairs, and black/white boards to create an ideal learning environment. We provide roughly 50 tablets (enough for one stream of Class 3), along with headphones for an enhanced learning experience. Enuma licenses are available for each student enrolled in the program, and a computer is used for data collection and monitoring of students' progress. 

Additionally, we have assigned a program manager who has the direct responsibility of overseeing students' learning, the learning management system, and day to day operations of the program and its equipment. Being from Tanzania and with extensive experience in project management, our program manager is perfectly positioned to have direct contact with the locals and bridge the gap between the local staff and the rest of the staff living in Europe or in the United States.

With all those commitments, Selfless Solutions believes that we can fulfill our mission to ensure that every graduate from the primary schools that we work with has the essential language skills needed to succeed in their secondary education.

For the foundational research regarding the choice of the educational app, we relied on the results published by the Global Learning XPRIZE, whose co-winner is our partner Enuma. With comprehensive and rigorous studies in primary schools in Tanzania, they demonstrated that their solution has a positive impact.

Regarding the foundational research for the implementation strategy, most of the research conducted came from UN reports, notably the Global Education Monitoring report, and research about bringing technology into the classroom, notably the project EduNum whose goal was to bring digital skills in primary schools of Switzerland. Particularly, this literature review of this project shed light on the importance of involving the local teachers in the program and emphasized three key reasons. Firstly, according to Rogers' Diffusion Theory, successful adoption of innovation relies heavily on the involvement of teachers, as it underscores the vital interplay between innovation, innovators, and the social context. Secondly, teachers stand at the forefront of education, knowing their students the best, including their strengths and weaknesses. Lastly, involving both teachers and children in our e-learning program creates a mutually beneficial environment, fostering educational growth for all. The research recommends prioritizing three essential factors. Firstly, we must ensure that teachers perceive the usefulness of our new content. Secondly, ease of implementation is crucial, preventing the teachers from feeling overwhelmed by its complexity. Finally, providing ongoing support for teachers is essential. Teachers need to feel supported in their roles and have access to resources that can assist them in enhancing their teaching practices. 

The formative research mainly relies on a pilot project run by Selfless Solutions from March 2022 - March 2023. In this pilot, 50 students from Sing’isi were sent to a private educational center after school where they received English lessons from a private primary school teacher and then worked through Khan Academy Kids content to reinforce the concepts they had learned. Following the first pilot, interviews with local teachers and parents revealed widespread disappointment regarding the discontinuation of the program. Many expressed satisfaction with the progress made by the children and their enthusiastic engagement with the learning process. It has also been reported that it also had an impact on the overall motivation of some kids during the normal class schedule. We take this as strong evidence that a similar program is needed and can succeed. Several challenges were encountered during this pilot program. Firstly, conflicting schedules with the school resulted in student dropouts. Secondly, communication issues with the school's teachers and regular power cutoffs affected the program's effectiveness. Lastly, logistical difficulties arising from the program's off-site location directly impacted student attendance

For the summative research, we are currently running impact evaluations of our pilot E-Shuleni by analyzing the data collected from the tablets. We aim to do bi-monthly checks to provide data-driven, point-in-time interventions as needed to ensure that no student is left behind. We are still in the process of designing the best implementation strategy for collecting data.

Early summative data is limited in its indications.  At this time, we are using the early data points to determine what if any assumptions can be made to improve student achievement.  For example, at this point, bi-monthly data pulls are not automated.  The time needed to hand-put data into a usable format is too extensive, making the information gathered obsolete for use as a point-in-time  intervention. By automating the data collection process, the timeline from bi-monthly data pulls to point-in-time intervention decreases. Applicable interventions given at the appropriate time will impact student achievement. 

Another example of early data implications shows the need for prioritization of student intervention. 

At this juncture, the data appears to be indicating four different groups of progressing students, achieving, concerning, below expectations, and attendance concerns.  These student groupings all require different types of point-in-time intervention ranging from positive remarks and encouragement to one to one intervention with an educator to software and hardware repairs.  Determining a categorization of the data will allow us to most closely align the intervention to the need.  

Despite the limitations of our early data, we are using what can be gleaned to make a more efficient, responsive approach to on-going data pulls.  

As we continue to do the bi-monthly data pulls, we expect the data will show positive growth in English language proficiency.  At that point, we will use the data to inform our next steps,  creating an effective plan for expansion of the pilot to another grade level or another school.

So far, we are analyzing the impact of our solution quantitatively by analyzing the data from the app and qualitatively by running interviews. Having reliable and complete quantitative and qualitative results will greatly improve our decision making.

Specifically, we at Selfless Solutions are aware of the tremendous opportunities that technology can offer to support learning including the existing research on learning sciences. Having part of our team living in Tanzania and working directly with the local community, educators, and parents, we are aware of the challenges and opportunities. We realized that educational technology is not available where it is most needed, namely in low and middle income countries such as Tanzania. 

We realize the main challenge in our mission to give every child the chance to reach their full potential, is the implementation of the program. Because of this, we are committed to try what has already been proven to be effective in the implementation process as well as try new and promising approaches. As our resources are limited, we would greatly appreciate support for third-party research about the best practices in the field. 

We recognize that the success of our solution depends on several factors. The LEAP project could assist us in identifying and rigorously experimenting with these factors through various approaches like RCTs and independent assessments. Designing high-quality, reliable quantitative and qualitative analysis would be very helpful for our team to support our decision making process. Identifying which data to collect and analyze to strengthen the evidence base of our program would also be very helpful.

Now is the right time to engage in a LEAP Project because we are at the critical stage of implementing technology in the classroom all the while looking for evidence base solutions. We deeply believe that with the right people and the right strategy, we can make a significant change and have a proof of concept.

With the help of the LEAP Project, we would like to answer the following questions:

• How and to what extent participation in the E-Shuleni program improves learning outcomes in the English language?

• What measurable indicators and assessment methods can reliably demonstrate the impact and effectiveness of our technology-driven approach on student learning outcomes? (data collection, design of an independent and rigorous assessment,...)

• What strategies and partnerships are most effective in ensuring the sustainability and scalability of our educational technology program in Tanzania and which strategies could we implement?

We selected all three research methods—foundational research, formative research, and summative research—because they collectively contribute to a comprehensive approach to strengthening the evidence base of our solution and informing our current implementation strategies and those in the future.

Foundational Research: 

Foundational research, such as literature reviews and desktop research, will be essential to establish a strong knowledge base about existing educational technology interventions in low and middle-income countries, especially in the Tanzanian context. By conducting in-depth reviews of relevant literature and existing programs, we aim to identify best practices, challenges, and gaps. The desired output from this component is a comprehensive synthesis of existing research findings, highlighting key insights, successful strategies, and lessons learned that can guide the design and implementation of our solution.

Formative Research: 

Formative research methods, including usability studies, feasibility studies, and user interviews, are crucial for refining our solution and ensuring its effectiveness in the Tanzanian context. Through formative research, we will engage directly with stakeholders—teachers, students, and community members—to gather insights into user preferences, needs, and challenges. This research will inform iterative improvements to our solution, ensuring that it meets the specific requirements and expectations of its users. The desired output here is a set of actionable recommendations for optimizing our solution based on user feedback and feasibility assessments.

Summative Research: 

Summative research, such as impact evaluations and quasi-experimental studies, will allow us to rigorously assess the effectiveness and impact of our educational technology program. By measuring outcomes and analyzing correlations, we aim to demonstrate the program's impact on student learning outcomes and educational equity. The desired output from summative research is a robust evaluation report outlining the program's impact, accompanied by evidence-based recommendations for scaling and sustainability.

In the 12-week program, we envision specific outputs that align with the goals of each research method. Outputs will include:

Study Designs: Detailed plans for conducting literature reviews, usability studies, feasibility assessments, and impact evaluations, outlining methodologies, data collection approaches, and analysis frameworks.

Strategies and Frameworks: Recommendations for implementing user-centered design strategies, incorporating stakeholder feedback, and developing sustainable implementation frameworks.

Monitoring and Evaluation Tools: Prototypes of monitoring and evaluation tools, including surveys, assessment instruments, and data collection protocols, designed to measure key indicators and assess program impact.

Following the conclusion of the Project sprint, our organization, Selfless Solutions, is committed to putting these outputs into action following this detailed plan:

Implementation Strategy Refinement: One key action we will take is to refine our implementation strategy based on the research outputs. This includes incorporating the findings from the literature reviews, usability studies, and impact evaluations into our program design. For example, if the literature review highlights successful strategies for integrating technology into classrooms in low-resource settings, we will adapt these strategies to our context. Usability studies and user feedback will inform iterative improvements to our solution, ensuring it meets the needs of teachers and students.

Scaling and Sustainability Planning: The research outputs will also guide our scaling and sustainability planning. We will use the evidence-based recommendations from the impact evaluations and quasi-experimental studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of our solution to potential funders and stakeholders. This will support our efforts to secure additional funding and partnerships to scale the program sustainably across more schools and communities in Tanzania. Additionally, we will develop strategies to integrate local teachers into the program and build capacity for long-term sustainability.

Policy Advocacy and Knowledge Sharing: Another critical aspect of putting the outputs into action is engaging in policy advocacy and knowledge sharing. We will use the synthesized research findings to advocate for policy changes and investments in educational technology initiatives at local and national levels. By sharing our research outputs with policymakers, education authorities, and the broader community, we aim to influence policy decisions and foster a supportive ecosystem for technology-enabled learning in Tanzania.

Currently private education with a focus on English language instruction can only be assured for those families with the economic means to pay the tuition.  Allowing the “have” versus the  “have nots” archaic system to continue will only guarantee the status quo remains for generations.  Generations of learning, wealth, health, scientific discoveries, and entrepreneurial businesses will be lost unless change begins today.   Our overall goal of social change in Africa is almost too big to fathom. We have a timeline; we have an implementation strategy. We firmly believe education, with proficiency in the English language, is the linchpin to social change.  Without education for all people, this social change can not and will not occur.   The E-Shuleni program is the change.  It will provide English language proficiency to all students, opening before them the promise of an education at the secondary level and beyond.  Any boundaries a student encounters will be only the ones they chose to draw; poverty of education will not define futures. Each day matters; each child is the promise. There is no time to waste. But this is our plan based on our assumptions, our beliefs, and our best problem solving skills. 

We need data driven assurance to feel confident in implementation. We have to be certain that what we do today, with the time the pilot has been given, truly holds the promise we seek.  Since bad data leads to bad decisions, our data must be solid. It must be relative and usable. It must be able to lead us to solid decisions and implementation plans. Therefore, our ultimate goal for our participation in the 12-week LEAP Project is to ensure our data collected is a firm foundation upon which to build a roadmap for social change. It must be clean, useful, and directly related to the intervention, offering a solid approach upon which we will make decisions to move forward or not. Using this independent support, provides a higher degree of certainty in the path; we will truly use any and all recommendations to drive next steps. Together, we can ensure that every moment a child is given in this educational opportunity is impactful and provides a path for long-term social change.