The group calls themselves “Nyansapo” which means “wisdom” in the African language Twi.

Their app, also called “Nyansapo” helps kids in Kenya practice their reading comprehension in English.

Penn State engineering students in the group “Nyansapo” created an app by the same name to help children in Kenya read.

The group says Kenya has a low literacy rate for fourth to seventh graders, which affects the rest of their academics.

Plus, there is a forty to one teacher-student ratio.

The app tells students when they’re reading and pronouncing words incorrectly, so it acts as a teacher.

It also gives feedback on the child’s performance to the Kenyan teacher.

“It really reduces the workload and the amount of work that the teachers have to do in terms of just assessing the students on one to one,” Parmar, said.

It’s already making a difference.

“I found out that the children who are in our program , some who were performing very poorly, were able to improve in their normal classroom instructions and their exams, which I found that is something that can be expanded and can be able to reach way more other children,” Mumbe Mwangangi, said.

People with the local schools are bringing the phones with the apps to the children in remote areas, so they can learn during the pandemic.

“Schools are closed, but we can still keep on giving kids some engagement and help them with their numeracy and literacy levels,” Amoa, said.

This is part of the Nittany AI Challenge.

The Penn State students will be judged before a Penn State panel on September 10th for a chance to win $25,000 to further improve and expand their app.