Our human rights training is now available directly via WhatsApp!
This means we can reach many more workers – right on their phones.
It’s a big step toward our goal: sending personalized links and reminders that follow each learner’s journey – and ensuring many more workers complete all sessions.
Just a couple of challenges along the way:
- To avoid being classified as “marketing”, we had to get creative with our wording – we couldn’t even start with “Hello, …”!
- Since audio isn’t supported yet, we have to send additional videos for workers who cannot read.
- Some local languages, like Bambara (Mali), are still missing from WhatsApp’s system.
But there were also concerns:
Meta’s track record and data-collection policies? Questionable.
The connection to the Trump government? Frightening.
We would have loved to use an open-source alternative like Signal.
Why WhatsApp, then?
Because reality matters: in many regions of the Global South, WhatsApp is the only way to reach people.
Without it, there would be no API integration into our system – and no scalable communication with workers. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best solution we currently have. And we think that’s okay.
Small steps are better than standing still.
Pragmatism drives impact, not perfectionism. Building bridges and dialogue matter more than rigid ideals.
Sometimes there’s no black-and-white answer. Sometimes we need to choose progress over perfection!
Grateful to my colleague Sangeetha for her persistence and patience in bringing the WhatsApp integration to life!