Rapid family tracing to reunite street children in Guinea
Children as young as 5-12 years old are surviving on the streets of Conakry at night, resulting in traumatic arrests by children's court patrols
KinTrace lets community members and professionals log found children with photos via mobile while families report missing children through simple USSD or app. The system surfaces likely matches for manual review and guides a structured, documented reunification process with follow-up check-ins to prevent children returning to the streets.
Impoverished Guinean families and vulnerable children aged 5-12 living on urban streets in Conakry
Dual interface approach — full mobile app for professionals and USSD/voice for low-literacy families — plus community photo verification network unique to West African contexts.
hopeful
Families can report missing children via basic mobile phones using USSD menus
Field workers upload photos and details of street children instantly
Algorithm + human review queue for potential family matches
Step-by-step digital paperwork and consent process for safe return
Scheduled voice calls and SMS at 7 and 30 days post-reunification
Secure voice notes between verified families and social workers
Trends dashboard showing common causes in different Conakry districts
Link children to school attendance records to spot early warning signs
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| phone | text | No |
| guardian_name | text | No |
| district | text | Yes |
| created_at | timestamp | No |
Relationships:
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| family_id | uuid | No |
| child_name | text | Yes |
| age | int | Yes |
| description | text | Yes |
| photo_url | text | Yes |
| status | text | No |
Relationships:
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| reported_by | uuid | No |
| photo_url | text | No |
| location_found | text | No |
| notes | text | Yes |
| created_at | timestamp | No |
Relationships:
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| report_id | uuid | No |
| found_id | uuid | No |
| reunited_at | timestamp | Yes |
| status | text | No |
| followup_7d | bool | No |
Relationships:
/api/reports/missingCreate missing child report (webhook from USSD)
/api/reports/foundLog newly found street child
/api/matchesReturn ranked potential family matches
/api/reunifyComplete reunification and trigger follow-ups
Limited to 5 cases
None
None
| Month | Users | Conversion | MRR | ARR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 75 | 11% | $289 | $3,468 |
| Month 6 | 620 | 16% | $3,472 | $41,664 |
USSD reporting for families. Fast matching and safe reunification for professionals.
Collaborate with women's savings groups and market associations in Conakry who often know when children go missing. Offer free Pro tier to two established reunification NGOs for co-branded pilot and case studies. Present system to children's court social services as a tool to reduce detention center overcrowding, targeting rapid government buy-in for the first paid contract.
Global reach and trust
Slow bureaucracy, not real-time, not focused on prevention
Hyper-local, mobile-first, fast reunification with follow-up
Broad functionality
No USSD component for poorest families
Purpose-built dual interface for Guinea literacy levels
Growing database of verified family profiles and successful reunification patterns creates increasing matching accuracy. Strong trust relationships with local women's groups.
Explosion of cheap Android phones in Guinea alongside widespread WhatsApp usage creates new infrastructure for rapid photo-based tracing that didn't exist five years ago.
Child trafficking risks if verification is bypassed
Mandatory in-person verification step before physical reunification and court documentation
Families may not trust digital system
Heavy community co-design and physical presence during first 20 reunifications
Success: At least 20 families say they would use USSD reporting
Success: Minimum 18 successful reunifications with 70% 30-day retention
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