TunzaMalkia

Inspiration

TunzaMalkia was inspired by our own experiences and those of our female friends, revealing a significant lack of awareness and understanding of sexual health. We realized that much of this stemmed from the stigma surrounding the topic in our communities. Sexual health remains a taboo subject, and this silence prevents women from accessing the education and support they need to make informed decisions about their well-being. Our goal was to break this silence, provide a safe space for women to learn, share, and connect, and empower them to take control of their sexual health.

What it does

TunzaMalkia is a digital platform that empowers Kenyan women with accessible, culturally sensitive sexual health information. It offers a range of features, including:

A caring chatbot that answers questions on sexual health in both English and Kiswahili. Interactive quizzes to educate users on topics like contraception and STIs in an engaging way. An anonymous story-sharing section where women can share their experiences, fostering community support. The platform is designed to break down stigmas, provide reliable information, and create a supportive space for women to feel safe and empowered.

How we built it

We built TunzaMalkia using Next.js for the front-end framework, Tailwind CSS for styling, and Gemini for model integration. The combination of these technologies allowed us to create a responsive, user-friendly interface that caters to the needs of our users. We focused on ensuring the platform was not only functional but also welcoming and easy to navigate, with an emphasis on user experience.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges we faced was the integration of the model into our platform. Fine-tuning the model to ensure it fit the specific needs of our project was particularly difficult. We had to experiment with various configurations to achieve the desired results, which took considerable time and effort. Additionally, addressing the sensitivity of the subject matter was another challenge, as we had to ensure that the platform was designed to make users feel safe and comfortable discussing topics that are often stigmatized.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are incredibly proud of the functionality of the TunzaMalkia web application. Creating a platform that works seamlessly and serves our intended purpose is a significant accomplishment. The time, dedication, and teamwork we invested in this project paid off, and seeing the final product come to life is something we celebrate.

What we learned

Through this project, we learned the importance of design thinking from a user-centric perspective. Given the sensitive and often taboo nature of the topic, we had to be thoughtful in how we designed the user experience. It was crucial to ensure that users felt a sense of safety, non-judgment, and trust when interacting with the platform. This experience reinforced the value of empathy in design and the importance of creating technology that truly serves its users.

What's next for TunzaMalkia

Looking ahead, our goal for TunzaMalkia is to establish partnerships and foster community building. We aim to collaborate with health organizations, NGOs, and other stakeholders to expand our reach and impact. By forming strategic partnerships, we hope to enhance the platform’s offerings and continue to break the stigma surrounding sexual health, empowering more women to take control of their health and well-being.