Sampanna

An estimated 1.5 million Nepalis are vulnerable to human trafficking annually. Approximately 3 out of 4 trafficking survivors in Nepal have never received any formal education, severely hindering their ability to secure employment and achieve financial stability.

Although some formal adult education programs are available, many survivors express a preference for informal educational approaches that can be integrated into their busy lives. With 73% of Nepalis owning a smartphone and having internet access, there is significant potential for digital educational solutions.

However, most online educational resources require literacy in English or Nepali, creating a barrier for survivors who lack these skills. Similarly, survivors often rely on word-of-mouth to learn about assistance programs and resources, as they are unable to search for and comprehend online information about available resources.

Sampanna is an educational platform tailored for non-readers offering concise, interactive lessons in numeracy, financial literacy, and job skills. Designed specifically for trafficking survivors, Sampanna aims to accelerate career growth and financial security while facilitating access to survivor resources.

In our user conversations and testing, survivors expressed a strong desire to learn skills that would help them to manage their finances better and expand their job prospects. However, the existing programs available provide long, in-person courses that don’t fit into their busy schedules. Users expressed a preference for dedicating 10-15 minutes daily to educational activities. Our application offers lessons that are 5 minutes or less, combining concise video lessons with audio-based questions. This format encourages users to build a consistent learning habit that fits into their daily routines.

We also discovered that the majority of our target demographic own smartphones and regularly use popular apps like WhatsApp and Instagram. They have learned to navigate these apps through icons and have become familiar enough with the platforms to spend significant time on them.

Existing educational platforms are not set up for non-readers. Filling in an application with bio information can be a challenge that keeps users from continuing their education journey, and existing platforms require basic literacy to navigate and engage with the content. To address these barriers, our lessons are video-based and include audio-based quizzes to ensure users can fully engage without literacy constraints.

Additionally, many Nepali survivors in India who are considering repatriation to Nepal are unaware of available resources. To address this, our solution includes an audio and visual based list of resources that explains these support programs and highlights local employment opportunities.

The next phase of our solution involves incorporating AI for a more engaging and personalized learning journey. We plan to use natural language processing to improve the intake process for new users by assessing their current knowledge and interests, then generating tailored learning plans. For example, if an individual demonstrates a high level of numeracy and an interest in budgeting, the application can recommend skipping ahead to more advanced financial lessons. Additionally, we will use generative AI tools to develop interactive content and raise awareness of survivor resources. Users will be able to speak rather than type their questions and receive audio responses, making the experience more accessible and user-friendly.

By leveraging the widespread availability of smartphones and focusing on audiovisual content, Sampanna effectively bridges the literacy gap, helping survivors to navigate and thrive in their personal and professional lives.

Part of ensuring ethical and responsible use of technology is ensuring equal access for ALL, regardless of  race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity. Right now the vast majority of educational resources and general use applications that exist are made for literate people. We will be providing access to educational and other resources to a severely underserved population of illiterate people, providing them a platform to grow both personally and professionally. 

Sampanna ensure users data privacy and security through the platform it is built on:

• Compliance: Sampanna is built on a an educational  platform which is GDPR and CCPA compliant

• Secure Architecture: It is a cloud-based platform that is purpose built for the cloud based on fundamental principles of security and privacy.

To address potential risks, Sampanna requires minimal information for users to register and access our educational resources. Our platform allows users to track progress through different courses without requiring personal information such as age, gender, payment information, etc. By collecting minimal personal information from users we are reducing risks in case of any security incidents.

Our solution serves adult trafficking survivors who cannot read or write and want to improve their financial literacy and job-related skills. Specifically, our target group includes Nepali speakers in Nepal and India, with potential for expansion to other languages and regions.

The impact on users’ lives will be:

1. Improved Numeracy Skills: Enable users to perform basic arithmetic essential for everyday transactions and financial management.

2. Increased Financial Confidence including topics like:

   1. Avoiding Predatory Loans

   2. Budgeting and Saving

   3. Navigating Banking systems

3. Employment Opportunities: Equip users with skills that increase their employability in their preferred employment type. Some examples are:

   1. Baking mathematics - unit conversion, ingredient ratios, temperature

   2. Sewing mathematics - measurement, fractions, decimals, patterns

   3. Salary calculation - understand pay incentive structure and taxes

4. Resource Awareness: Increase awareness of and access to essential resources such as housing assistance and job placement services, helping users to rebuild their lives more effectively

Our solution not only addresses immediate educational needs but also contributes to long-term economic and social empowerment for trafficking survivors.

Our team is all based locally in Kathmandu, Nepal, and we have directly been partnering with an organization that offers social services to trafficking survivors who have voluntarily repatriated from India to Nepal. Through this partnership, we have been able to directly involve survivors from both Nepal and India in the development of this solution and ensure it meets their specific needs and challenges.

We have established strong connections within Kathmandu's network of anti-trafficking organizations, including an in-person job training center. Additionally, we collaborate with several local employers including a beauty salon, a textiles manufacturer, and a digital media editing company. These connections provide valuable insights into the specific job skills that are in demand, allowing us to tailor our content to increase the employability of survivors.

I have lived in Kathmandu, Nepal for the past nine years while working in the tech industry developing AI enablement products. My work experience has given me an understanding of how to develop technology and when / how to apply AI to solve problems for users.

My teammate, Shristi Kapali, a Kathmandu-native, brings over a decade of experience in workforce training. She has a deep understanding of how to upskill diverse populations and how to guide learners through their educational journey.

My teammate, Catherine Fougere-Masters, is a researcher specializing in survivor-informed repatriation and reintegration. She previously spent 5 years in Kolkata, India, working in community development with women in active situations of commercial sexual exploitation.

We have selected this stage because we have developed the first working prototype of the application and have already begun user testing to improve our solution. The prototype was built using an existing educational platform, leveraging its infrastructure to expedite development and focusing on validating and refining the solution. User Feedback was collected from five people in a live testing session:

• Three survivors: Provided feedback on the content's relevance and usability, ensuring it meets their specific needs.

• One adult child of a survivor: Provided perspective on the usability of the application.

• One NGO staff member: Provided professional insights into how the application can be integrated into existing support services and identified areas for improvement.

We are applying to the Challenge because our solution is in its early stages, and winning the Challenge would provide critical support to accelerate our progress. Specifically, the value winning the Challenge would bring includes:

• Bring Expertise in Educational Design: Funding for an adult educational specialist will be crucial in designing effective content and learning paths tailored to the needs of trafficking survivors.

• Ability to Develop our Own Application: Funding to hire a local company to develop our application will allow us to overcome the limitations of current tooling used for the prototype and allow us to fully design a user experience that caters to our target demographic. We will be able to begin incorporating AI-driven features such as personalized learning pathways.

• Coaching on Business Model and Strategy: We are seeking guidance and coaching on the strategy for maximizing our impact and making the organization financially sustainable.

Our innovative approach addresses several critical gaps in existing educational solutions:

• Accessibility for Non-Readers: Traditional educational platforms often assume a basic level of literacy, creating a significant barrier for non-readers. Sampanna opens up learning opportunities to a demographic that has been largely overlooked.

• Short, Interactive Lessons: In our user testing, survivors expressed a preference for short, manageable learning sessions that fit into their busy lives. Unlike existing programs that offer long, in-person courses, Sampanna's lessons are 5 minutes or less.

• Leveraging Familiar Technology: Our research found that most of our target users are proficient with smartphones and regularly use popular apps like WhatsApp and Instagram. By designing our platform to mimic the intuitive, icon-based navigation of these apps, we ensure that users can easily adopt and navigate Sampanna without additional learning curves.

• Audiovisual Resource Directory: There is currently no centralized location to find available resources for survivors in Nepal, even in written form. Sampanna is the first platform to create an audiovisual resource directory specifically for survivors in Nepal.

• AI-Powered Interaction: The next phase of Sampanna will incorporate advanced AI technologies, including natural language processing and generative AI tool to create more interactive content, assess user knowledge and interests, and generate tailored learning plans.

Sampanna's approach has the potential to inspire other educational platforms to consider the needs of non-readers and creatively integrate AI to make learning solutions more inclusive.

Goal 1: Increased Financial Literacy and Numeracy

Metrics:

• Monthly active users on the platform

• Number of courses completed

• Change in scores from pre and post course quizzes

Goal 2: Increased confidence with managing finances and navigating the job market

Metrics:

• Self-reporting through periodic surveys

Goal 3: Increased awareness of survivor resources

Metrics:

• Resource page views

• Resource page content clicks

Our solution leverages existing technology to serve an underserved demographic - individuals proficient with smartphones but unable to read or write.

Our current prototype is built using an existing tool, Thinkific, which has enabled us to quickly test and validate our approach with learners. As we progress, we plan to create a custom application specifically designed for our non-reading users.

Recent advancements in generative AI offer potential for enhancing user interaction in less commonly spoken languages such as Nepali or Tamang. By incorporating these tools, we aim to provide more engaging learning experiences and expand our offering to additional regions.

3 part-time people (volunteers)

1 month

Although our team currently does not yet employ staff, we are committed to fostering diversity and inclusion. We plan to implement inclusive recruitment practices and prioritize the involvement of survivors as partners and staff in the organization. Our goal is to create a welcoming and equitable environment where everyone has the opportunity to thrive as we grow.

In our user conversations and testing, our target users expressed a strong desire to learn so they can access better employment opportunities and gain confidence in managing their finances.

The majority of our target users own and regularly use smartphones to communicate and for entertainment on apps like TikTok and YouTube, navigating these through icons and visuals. However, they struggle with more complex apps that require literacy skills.

Sampanna offers our users an alternative - instead of mindless scrolling on social media, our users can access a learning platform built specifically for them with content they will enjoy and be able to apply to their lives, in “bite-sized” modules that they can easily fit into their day. 

The success of apps like Duolingo and the viral success of their “streak” feature which encourages users to log into the platform and learn everyday so they don’t lose their “streak” shows that people highly value these small and mobile-based learning opportunities and are willing to go to great lengths to continue their learning streaks. We plan to implement similar technology in Sampanna, providing periodic prompts to continue learning in the platform, and using a similar “learning badge” reward and “learning streak” system that encourages users to continue learning.

Right now Sampanna is a free app and we plan to continue building out the educational content and features of the app through our team’s time investment and grants provided by organizations such as MIT Solve. Our primary goal is to benefit survivors of human trafficking and not to earn money, however we also acknowledge the need to be financially sustainable in order to provide these resources. While not immediately planned, we are not against monetization through a “freemium” app model with premium features available for payment, or serving ads to non-paying users.

We have developed the current version of Sampanna through the time, expertise, and financial investment of our team. As we move forward, we will seek outside grants and donations to continue expanding the app's educational content and features. While the current version of Sampanna is entirely free to use, we recognize the need for financial sustainability. The content offered through Sampanna will be valuable to a diverse range of users, some of whom may be able to pay. We will explore monetizing premium features or content for those users.