“In my house, we never talked about sexual health. I learned the basics in school and from conversations with friends.” Anielka Medina, Co-founder of The Lily Project and Chava App
The lack of open dialogue in Anielka’s home reflects a widespread silence on sexual health across Latin America. Still today, it remains a global issue, denying women essential knowledge for their health and safety.
Anielka Medina, who is originally from Nicaragua, and who has suffered the personal tragedy of losing her mother to cervical cancer, set out to break this cycle of ignorance. In 2015, Anielka co-founded the nonprofit organization The Lily Project with several others to combat cervical cancer, the leading cause of death among young Nicaraguan women, and to provide sexual health education to rural teenagers. Later, Susan Cotton joined the mission seeking a project dedicated to women’s health rights, and she helped make that dream a reality.
Their mission is to ensure that no one else suffers from a lack of vital health information, especially regarding women’s sexual health. They commit to educating women about their bodies and the importance of regular checkups and screenings.
From left to right, co-founders Susan Cotton and Anielka Medina.
Over seven years with The Lily Project, Anielka learned about women’s struggles to access quality care and accurate information crucial to their health and lives. She identified a similar unmet need throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
Discover Anielka Medina’s story
How The Lily Project Started its Sexual Health Education Program
Through group education and one-on-one counseling sessions at health events and in schools, The Lily Project provided comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information, gender roles, and abuse. In-person education has proven extremely effective in changing girls’ attitudes and behaviors. However, the limited reach of in-person education hinders its effectiveness in reaching a broader audience and addressing the widespread need for sexual health education.
Leading up to the development of the Chava App, The Lily Project had to navigate through several challenges, such as the sociopolitical crisis in Nicaragua in 2018. A dictatorship stripped away rights, hitting women hardest and leading to increased femicide and a lack of contraceptives and sexual health information. Early pregnancies were normalized, and the government cracked down on NGOs, labeling them as coup plotters. Many were expelled or accused of money laundering. The Lily Project requested closure in 2021 but has yet to receive a response.
All of this is changing with the development of Chava App, the first mobile app designed specifically to help young Latinas become informed, confident advocates of their own sexual health, education, and power.
Pro-bono Partnership Between The Lily Project and Cloud Primero
We matched The Lily Project team with the software development company Cloud Primero. Based in the Netherlands, the Cloud Primero team instantly resonated with the cause and engaged a dedicated team to work on the project on a pro-bono basis. Their support opened a real opportunity for the educators at the Lily Project: to build a mobile app and reach wider audiences with sexual health education. This is how the Chava App was born.
“We were happy to be part of a story that was already making value.” Ali Zaidi, CEO of Cloud Primero
In the development process, Cloud Primero considered key details like the type of phone and bandwidth in Nicaragua. The mission was to make the Chava App accessible to everyone, and the team did an excellent job creating an experience where users can be anonymous based on their personal experiences.
Their shared cultural backgrounds and the problems their various cultures faced regarding sexual health were the driving forces behind the CP team’s motivation and inspiration.
A particularly uplifting aspect of their collaboration was how team members from Pakistan and other underserved countries found inspiration in the project. They saw an opportunity not just to contribute, but to take the learnings and the app itself back to their own countries to make a significant impact.
“The Cloud Primero collaboration was unique!” said Anielka during our interview.
The Chava App: Saving Lives through Remote Medical Education and Advice
One of the ongoing successes of the Chava App is its ability to provide users with instant access to health professionals. Anielka recalls the story of a 21-year-old girl who reached out for consultation regarding possible menstrual pain and vaginal bleeding.
This moment underscores the transformative power of technology in healthcare, bridging critical gaps between individuals in remote areas and essential medical advice. After a series of questions and the girl sharing some photos, Anielka’s team discovered she was experiencing a miscarriage. Thanks to the network Anielka built in the area, they were able to send an ambulance immediately to a rural area of Matagalpa. This incident serves as a powerful example of the trust Anielka and her team have established with their users.
See how the Chava App works!
A Tech for Good Partnership with Impact
The collaboration between The Lily Project and Cloud Primero continues to demonstrate the profound impact technology businesses can have on global health. Initially, their joint effort in developing the Chava app transformed an ambitious concept into a tangible solution, addressing the significant gap in sexual health education and services across Latin America.
This was not merely a tech collaboration. Over the years of matching impact leaders with tech companies, at Tech To The Rescue we have witnessed hundreds of truly game-changing connections, where both parties engaged in impactful tech projects, share a unique and transformative experience. The Cloud Primero team can confirm that technology businesses can significantly contribute to social well-being, demonstrating that technology, when used intelligently and collectively, can be a force for good in the world, by engaging in pro-bono projects for nonprofit organizations.
Are you ready to make an impact? Contact us and let us find an impactful project for your tech team!
