Ahlan is designed to offer refugees and immigrants settling in urban cities the resources needed to ease their transition, integrate, and, very importantly, feel at home.

The app is based on “This is Home”, a guidebook designed by Rania Qawasma which was created as a response to the Syrian refugee crisis to aid refugees with basic needs upon their resettling in a new region. It introduces newcomers to the specific characteristics of their new home and offers transportation and shopping resources.

Most amenities within individual homes greatly vary across different cultures, not to mention daily life activities outside our homes that we take for granted. This however could be overwhelmingly complicated for newly arrived refugees and immigrants.

Users can then choose from three major cities and two languages connecting them with nearby grocery stores, public transit, and medical care. Users are also able to look up common translations from their primary language to English in order to better communicate their needs.

SOME OF THE FEATURED RESOURCES:
- Grocery Stores
- Shopping
- Local Hospitals
- Public Transit

Future application updates will focus on expanding our coverage of cities in the rest of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and potentially the rest of the world’s refugee hosting countries.

Ahlan was created by Daarna, a nonprofit organization with a mission to offer better architectural, design, and educational solutions for refugees on a global and local scale because everyone deserves a home.