Piloting in rural Limpopo, South Africa

Type 1 Diabetes care that fits in a young person's pocket.

A mobile-first companion for 12–30 year olds living with T1DM far from a clinic — guideline-based education, a private nurse chat, insulin reminders and one-tap emergency help, all built for low-bandwidth phones.

12–30
Age group designed for
10
Education modules
<1MB
Typical page weight
24/7
SOS to the clinic
My T1DM Companion app on a phone showing the home dashboard with nurse chat, glucose logging, self-care education and emergency SOS

The reality we are designing for

No fridge for insulin, long distances to the clinic, missed school and shared phones. Every feature answers one of these.

The gap between a diagnosis and daily life

Young people in rural districts are diagnosed at a clinic, then go home to manage a complex condition alone. The platform closes that gap.

The clinic is far

Nurse chat, video and appointment requests replace journeys that cost a day's transport money.

Data and signal are scarce

Light pages, downloadable install, audio modules and content that keeps working on a weak connection.

Self-care knowledge is thin

Research-based modules on hypos, insulin storage, local food, school and travel — in plain language.

What's inside the app

Self-care education

10 guideline-based modules built from the research: insulin, hypos, food, school, travel and more — with posters, video and audio.

Chat with a nurse

A private, secure line to the clinic team. Ask a question between visits instead of travelling 40km for an answer.

One-tap emergency SOS

Sends the patient's location and details to the clinic instantly, and lets a nurse join by video, chat or phone.

Medication reminders

Alarms for every insulin dose, with 'taken' and 'snooze' logged per dose so adherence can actually be measured.

Health logging

Glucose readings, meals and how you feel — a simple record patients and clinicians can review together.

Listen, don't just read

Every module can be played as audio, for low literacy, shared phones and eyes-busy moments.

Education people actually finish

Each module mixes read, listen and watch, ends with a short quiz, and carries visual guides made for this context — including how to keep insulin cool in a clay pot.

Poster explaining the warning symptoms of Type 1 DiabetesPoster on storing insulin safely in a clay pot without a fridgePoster showing local Limpopo foods and portion guidancePoster on managing Type 1 Diabetes confidently at school

Nurse-approved Q&A on every lesson

Progress tracked per module

Staff portal for alerts, chats and appointments

Download the pilot app

Install it directly from this page — no app store account, no large download. Android and iPhone both supported.

Android — install now

Installs straight from the browser. Works on low-end phones, uses very little data and adds an app icon to your home screen.

Android APK (pilot build)

For pilot sites that side-load the app onto clinic or learner devices without the Play Store.

Request the pilot APK

iPhone & iPad

On the iPhone, add it from Safari:

  1. Tap Share in Safari
  2. Tap Add to Home Screen

Partner with us

We are onboarding clinics, districts, funders and researchers into the pilot. Tell us how you'd like to work together and the team will respond.

  • Bring the platform to your clinic or district
  • Fund or evaluate the pilot
  • Contribute clinical or educational content
  • Request the pilot APK for your devices