Microlearning via WhatsApp transformed a train-the-trainers programme reaching 53 municipalities.
At a Glance
Client Profile
Organisation
Solidar Suiza Bolivia
Sector
International development / NGO
Programme
“Vida Digna Sin Violencia” (A Dignified Life Without Violence)
Location
Bolivia (9 departments, 53 municipalities)
Funded by
Embassy of Sweden
Target learners
Community leaders and promoters working in violence prevention
The Challenge
Solidar Suiza Bolivia runs one of the country’s most ambitious violence prevention programmes, coordinating community promoters, legal services, health providers, and local government across 53 municipalities.
These promoters are the backbone of the programme. They accompany women through legal processes, deliver workshops on economic empowerment, run awareness campaigns, and connect survivors with support services. Their effectiveness depends on consistent, up-to-date knowledge of protocols, legal frameworks, and intervention techniques.
But training these field leaders presented serious obstacles:
The Solution
MeridianPath partnered with Solidar Suiza to redesign their train-the-trainers programme as a WhatsApp-based microlearning course.
- Content transformation: Dense training materials on violence prevention protocols, legal frameworks (Ley N° 348), referral pathways, and intervention techniques were converted into 5-7 minute daily lessons delivered directly to promoters’ phones.
- Applied scenarios: Each module included real-world case studies drawn from the field — situations promoters actually encounter when supporting women through legal processes, economic empowerment programmes, and community interventions.
- Spaced repetition: Key concepts around legal protocols, safety planning, and referral procedures were reinforced through daily nudges, ensuring critical knowledge was retained long-term rather than forgotten after a single session.
- Zero friction: No app downloads, no login credentials to remember, no need for a computer. Training arrived in the same channel promoters already use to coordinate their daily work.
Before and After
Before
- Classroom sessions requiring travel from remote municipalities
- 35% course completion on traditional e-learning
- Theoretical content disconnected from fieldwork
- Manual tracking with limited visibility
- Training competes with fieldwork schedule
After
- Training delivered on WhatsApp, accessible anywhere
- 90% completion rate
- Applied case scenarios from real community interventions
- Real-time progress monitoring and knowledge assessment
- 5-7 minute lessons fit between community visits
Results
Why It Worked
- Met learners where they are. Community promoters in El Alto, Challapata, Padcaya, and Alcalá don’t sit at desks. They’re in communities, markets, and municipal offices. WhatsApp delivery meant training happened alongside their work, not instead of it.
- Content that mirrors reality. Rather than abstract theory, every module was built around situations these leaders face daily: accompanying a woman through a legal process, facilitating an economic empowerment workshop, coordinating with a SLIM or the FELCV.
- Respect for their time. These are people running workshops, managing referrals, and organising community awareness campaigns. Five-minute lessons respected their packed schedules while ensuring consistent learning.
“The course was thorough and genuinely useful. It was a completely new and engaging experience. What I valued most was the inclusion of practical examples and real cases where we could apply what we had learnt.”
— Programme participant, community leader
Ready to train your field teams where they already are?
Get in touch to discuss how microlearning via WhatsApp can transform your programme’s training outcomes.
