Organization Overview

CARE fights global poverty and social injustice in more than 120 countries, with a special focus on empowering women and girls. From emergency relief to education and health programs, CARE delivers impact where infrastructure is limited and resources are scarce, which is why the organization depends on technology that is both flexible and accessible.

Background

In Malawi, one of Africa’s most densely populated and poorest countries, CARE identified a persistent challenge affecting thousands of students: unreliable attendance tracking. Schools across the country relied on manual, paper-based roll call processes that were time-consuming for teachers, prone to error, and nearly impossible to act on in real-time. 

At the schools supported by CARE, the average class has 89 students. Without accurate attendance data, administrators struggled to allocate resources effectively, coordinate meal delivery, and identify students at risk of dropping out.

James Laja, a teacher and data collector, captured the core problem: "With the old system there were many errors in collecting attendance data and the transmission of attendance was slow." The human cost was real. When meals were miscounted, some children went without lunch. When at-risk students fell through the cracks, the window to intervene narrowed. CARE needed a solution that worked reliably in low-connectivity environments without burdening already stretched teachers.

As winners of a ServiceNow.org Partnership for Good Grant (SPGG), CARE partnered with KPMG to design and build AttendAssist — an AI-powered, SMS-enabled attendance solution built on ServiceNow App Engine. The goal was to replace manual processes with a system that could predict and track attendance in real time, unify workflows across administrators, and keep students engaged and accounted for all while operating in environments with limited connectivity. App Engine's low-code platform was key, and CARE built this without hiring a large engineering team, which means other resource-stretched organizations can do the same.

The Solution

AttendAssist was developed natively on App Engine, giving CARE the flexibility to configure the solution around their specific operational environment and workflow requirements. Rather than adapting an off-the-shelf tool, the team built a purpose-designed application that could function reliably in the conditions Malawi schools face.

At the core of the solution is AI-driven image recognition technology that automates student identification at the classroom. The result has been striking as James observed, "Students are excited with being photographed everyday, hence improved attendance." The system simultaneously transmits accurate data — a marked contrast to manual processes. By eliminating manual roll call, the system frees teachers from paperwork so they can focus on what matters — teaching.

SMS integration was central to the design from the start. Because many schools operate in areas with limited or inconsistent internet access, the solution uses SMS to transmit attendance data and push notifications to administrators and staff. This ensures that the system remains functional and useful even in the most resource-constrained settings, without requiring infrastructure investments that most schools in the region could not support.

On the administrative side, AttendAssist unifies workflows across school administrators, giving staff a single place to resolve attendance discrepancies, coordinate meal delivery, and flag concerns about individual students. Rather than relying on disconnected spreadsheets or manual follow-ups, administrators can now act on attendance information quickly and consistently — reducing both delays and errors in resource allocation, by quickly supplying schools with critical needs.

For many families in low-income communities, school is where a child will consistently receive a meal, which may not be possible at home, and both nutrition and education are essential in clearing the path out of poverty. In CARE-supported schools, 45% of the students come to class without having eaten breakfast at home. An accurate attendance count ensures that the precise number of meals are prepared for students, without wasting excess food or not providing enough.

The Results

The impact of AttendAssist has been measurable and significant. Student Naomi Malizani noted that, "AttendAssist is helpful in giving the correct number of students present  ̶  a critical improvement from when the system was sometimes giving the incorrect number of attendees."

Across 111 schools in Malawi, CARE raised school attendance by nearly 36%, directly benefiting more than 70,000 children. The efficiency gains for teachers are equally striking. A 90% reduction in roll call time means hours reclaimed for actual teaching. For educators managing 50+ students with limited resources, that time is transformative — it is the difference between a rushed, administrative school day and a day focused on learning.

CARE was also able to use the SMS-enabled workflow to reduce resource allocation errors in meal delivery. As James explained, "Correct student attendance helps in the preparation for meals, as food is prepared using correct figures that eliminate waste." This accuracy ensures that meals reached the students who needed them without the waste that plagued manual systems.

By unifying administrative workflows on a single platform, CARE was able to provide real-time feedback on attendance patterns to district supervisors and quickly mobilize support to schools. While traditional systems would require three weeks to conduct headcounts across all schools, AttendAssist allows CARE and district supervisors to obtain attendance data from all schools within a single day and provide feedback within 24 hours.

Looking Forward

CARE and ServiceNow are exploring how AttendAssist can be expanded to additional countries and contexts where manual attendance tracking creates barriers to educational access. The modular nature of the App Engine build means the solution can be adapted for different languages, connectivity environments, and administrative structures without requiring a full rebuild. As CARE continues to scale its digital programs, ServiceNow.org remains a platform partner capable of supporting that growth — from individual school deployments to regional and national programs.

AttendAssist relies on tools teachers already use every day. A teacher takes a photo of the class and sends it the same way they would send any other message, so the system gets used rather than set aside. CARE applies a similar test to any technology it adopts: It must work for the people using it and the communities they serve.

Beyond attendance, CARE sees the potential to apply the same architecture to other operational challenges in its education, workforce training, and health programs, where real-time data and automated workflows could unlock similar improvements in resource allocation and staff efficiency. The success of AttendAssist has demonstrated that enterprise-grade technology, when designed thoughtfully, can function effectively in some of the world's most demanding environments.

Bottom Line

CARE’s deployment of AttendAssist on App Engine is a proof point that the right technology, built for the right context, can create meaningful change at scale.

By raising school attendance by nearly 36% and cutting teacher roll call time by 90% across 111 schools in just 9 months, CARE has shown what becomes possible when AI and workflow automation are brought to bear on real human problems in resource-constrained environments.

For organizations working in humanitarian development, this engagement demonstrates that the ServiceNow AI Platform can meet them where they are and help them go further.