Problem

J¡la had previously developed a basic app that provides informational videos and social service contacts for under-resourced communities. However, it lacks the functionality needed to support its users and scale its impact effectively. Users cannot easily access resources tailored to their language or location, and limited admin capabilities prevent community organizations from updating and managing local content. As a result, information can become difficult to navigate, less relevant, and quickly outdated.

Solution

We worked with J¡la to build a scalable platform that better connects under-resourced language communities to essential information and opportunities. The solution allows for localized, language-specific content and provides improved admin tools for community organizations to manage local resources. Additionally, we introduced a job board connecting non-English speakers with inclusive employers and designed a more intuitive, accessible user experience.

Design

J¡la’s primary users often have limited experience with technology and may have low literacy in both their native language and English. To address this, we prioritized a visual-first design approach that minimizes text and emphasizes video content, clear iconography, and intuitive interactions. Implementing text-to-speech for all written information was a key accessibility challenge.

From an admin perspective, supporting multiple languages—particularly English and Q’anjob’al—presented additional design considerations. We needed to ensure that forms, content uploads, and resource management tables remained intuitive for admins managing multilingual content, while keeping workflows simple for community organizations.

Tech Stack

J¡la has two main parts, the mobile app and the admin dashboard. The admin dashboard utilizes React, Next.js, Lucide icons, TailwindCSS, PostgreSQL (For storage of video links, social service resources, and job board resources), Amazon S3 (For audio files), tRPC (For api routing), and Clerk (For authentication). The mobile app mainly uses React Native and Expo Go, and Clerk again for authentication.

Features

Video Resource Tab

The video resource tab serves as a centralized hub where community organizations can share educational content directly with the people they serve. The feature displays organized video resources that organizations upload through the admin portal, embedding both Google Drive and YouTube links so users can watch content without leaving the app. By making it straightforward for local organizations to publish and organize video materials, this tab helps ensure that communities have reliable, up-to-date access to the informational content most relevant to them — supporting J¡la's broader mission of keeping essential resources accessible across language barriers.

Social Service Resource Tab

The social service resource tab gives users a clear, browsable view of local services uploaded by community organizations — from housing assistance to healthcare programs and beyond. Each resource is presented as a card that users can flip to reveal additional details, keeping the interface clean while still offering the depth of information people need to take action. This design allows community members to quickly scan available services and dig deeper only when something is relevant to them, reinforcing J¡la's goal of making essential social resources easier to find and navigate for under-resourced communities.

Job Board Resource Tab

The job board resource tab connects non-English speakers with employment opportunities posted by local businesses and community administrators. Users can browse available positions and take advantage of extensive filtering options to narrow results based on their specific needs and qualifications, making the search process more efficient and less overwhelming. By bringing job listings and inclusive employers into the same platform where users already access other resources, this feature extends Jila's impact beyond information sharing and into economic opportunity — helping bridge the gap between under-resourced language communities and meaningful employment.

Admin Resource Management

The admin resource management system equips community organizations with the tools they need to keep content current and relevant. Through the admin portal, authorized users can view, edit, and delete video, social service, and job resources displayed on the mobile app, ensuring that outdated or inaccurate information doesn't linger in front of the people who depend on it. Admins can also add new resources and upload audio files that support text-to-speech functionality in Q'anjob'al, a Maya language spoken by many of the communities Jila serves. This level of control allows local organizations to maintain ownership over the content their communities see, directly addressing the previous app's limitations around scalability and content management.