Catalpa News | New Programs, Smarter Technology, More Impact

The past quarter has seen some exciting - and deeply fulfilling - milestones reached at Catalpa.

One of our longest running projects, Liga Inan, has now enrolled over 100,000 women in Timor-Leste. This child maternal health program has been important in increasing Timorese families’ trust in the healthcare system and has doubled the likelihood of women giving birth with a skilled birth attendant present. 👶🏾

Additionally, we officially launched Bero, Catalpa’s specialised mobile learning platform! Bero is designed for the unique needs of development programs, and makes skills training easy and accessible in low-resourced, remote communities.

Keen to learn more? Read on.

New social protection program goes live

Pregnant women and parents of children 0-3 years old are now eligible for a monthly cash transfer under Timor-Leste’s newest social protection program.

This week registrations began in the three municipalities with the highest combined rates of poverty and childhood malnutrition; Ainaro, Bobonaro and Oecusse. The program will be gradually expanded nationally in an effort to improve nutrition, health, education and poverty outcomes across the country.

Catalpa developed the new social payments platform off the back of a COVID-related cash payments program, in close partnership with Ministry of Social Solidarity and Inclusion.

The new electronic system will replace the existing manual paper system, significantly increasing efficiency and providing real-time monitoring and reporting to keep the government and public informed.

It will collect feedback from recipients, recording issues with payments which can then be rapidly resolved. Crucially, it is built to work offline, allowing the government to serve families in the most remote parts of the country where internet access is limited.

Eighty-six officers were recruited and trained to register women and families using tablets at health posts across the three municipalities.

Thanks to our partners MSSI, PHD and Australian Aid through DFAT.

Transforming professional development in PNG hospitals

Hospital staff at two of Papua New Guinea’s leading hospitals can now access job-embedded training on the go, via web app on mobile phones.

The program, Kumul Helt Skul, is part of the ongoing ANGAU Memorial Hospital Redevelopment project, and is transforming how staff are trained to improve quality of care. Already staff have access to learning modules covering infection prevention control, birthing, operating theatres, and emergency department.

Catalpa developed the flexible skills training experience using Bero - our mobile learning platform - and co-designed content in partnership with health experts.

The app’s interfaces integrate design elements from Papua New Guinean culture and learning activities are contextualised to day-to-day work, to help engage staff and create relevance of the learning to their roles.

Users can download courses to continue learning offline, providing greater flexibility given the limited connectivity in Lae and the country more broadly.

Thanks to our partners PNG Department of Health, JID and Australian Aid through DFAT.

Improving case management to support GBV survivors

Asistensia Legal ba Feto no Labarik (ALFeLa) provides a critical legal aid service for women and children in Timor-Leste. To support this important service, Catalpa has developed software that enables legal officers and managers to securely enter client case information, store key client information, flag cases for follow up, as well as generate reports in Tetun and English.

“The online database created by Catalpa international has had a significant impact on our work because the online database is simple and easy to use on computers and smartphones,” said ALFeLa Director  Dr. Marcelina Maria Fernanda Amaral. “It has enabled lawyers and legal officers in each municipality to input data directly themselves - instead of giving it to a central team in Dili to manage.”

“We can now store relevant client documents in the database such as client photos and information on cases of gender based violence already recorded in the Penal Code. We have access to easy reporting dashboards which track staff performance, as well as reports on criminal and civil cases.”

A series of human-centred design workshops and co-design activities allowed our team to develop a deep empathy and understanding of the challenges faced by legal teams in serving their clients. Working collaboratively with end-users, the technology was focused on improving case management practices in practical and sustainable ways.

“We are extremely grateful to Catalpa for enhancing our work processes on client cases and must express our sincere gratitude for the support from The Asian Foundation’s Nabilan program,” said Dr Amaral.

Thanks to our partners ALFeLa, The Asia Foundation and Australian Aid (through TAF Nabilan program).

Introducing Bero: Catalpa’s unique mobile learning platform

Learn more about the innovative platform that's improving skills training in Cook Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu.