Twenty percent of children living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) don’t live to see their fifth birthdays. The underlying causes of this high mortality rate—malnutrition, diarrhea, and malaria—are largely preventable, and a new, sustainable social enterprise from the American Refugee Committee (ARC) and IDEO.org is working to do just that. It’s called Asili. By designing a holistic, market-based approach to healthcare, clean water, and agriculture in conjunction with the very community it serves, Asili is ensuring that many more children get the right start in life.

In less than a year, Asili has seen more than 1,000 clinic visits, common maladies being diagnosed and treated, more than 1 million liters of water distributed, and a 600 percent increase in Asili farmers’ incomes. Near to the Asili health clinic, a new restaurant and a church have sprung up, night-school classes are now taught, and the citizens of the small town of Kabare have erected electricity poles for when the service eventually comes. Though it may seem like we co-created a new experience based on the existing needs of the community, Asili is all about building a better future for the people it serves.

Read the full case study with juror comments here: [http://www.aiga.org/cased-2015-winner-asili-clinic-agriculture-congo]

“This entry fueled a fabulous debate about the inherent design metric that each judge was evaluating on. The impact of a sustainable community based micro-economy far outweighs the visual design of the identity. I’m thrilled to see the power of design tackling problems that make people’s lives better.” —Sara Frisk