Natnael-arch/Tsehaye-Assist

A voice-first Android app that lets visually impaired users in Ethiopia call and text their contacts , completely hands-free, in Amharic or English. # Tsehay Assist **A voice-first Android app that lets visually impaired users in Ethiopia call and text their contacts completely hands-free, in Amharic or English.** Built by Natnael Beshane · Addis Ababa, Ethiopia --- ## The problem Touchscreens weren't designed with visually impaired users in mind. Small icons, unlabeled buttons, and text-heavy interfaces make something as basic as calling a family member a real daily obstacle, especially for older or blind users in Ethiopia, where most existing accessibility tools are built for English and don't handle Amharic well, whether that's spoken input, contact names, or dual-script (Amharic/Latin) name matching. ## What Tsehay Assist does You speak. It listens, understands, and acts. - **"ደዊትን ደውልልኝ" ("Call Dawit")** → Tsehay Assist finds the right contact,whether they're saved as `ዳዊት`, `Dawit`, or any close variant, reads the name back to you, and waits for you to physically confirm before it actually places the call. - **Send a text** the same way, say who and what, Tsehay Assist reads it back for confirmation, then sends it. - **Fully bilingual** - speak and receive responses in Amharic or English, whichever the user is comfortable with. The whole interaction is voice in, voice out. No menus to hunt through, no small text to read. ## Who it's for Visually impaired and low-vision users in Ethiopia who own an Android phone and want to stay connected with the people in their life without depending on someone else to place a call or send a message for them. ## How it works Tsehay Assist is two parts working together: 1. **The Android app** (this repo) - captures voice, plays back responses, and holds the safety-critical logic: matching a spoken name against the phone's real contact list (handling Amharic/Latin script differences and fuzzy pronunciation), and a **mandatory touch-confirmation gate** before any call or message is actually sent. The AI can suggest an action, but only a deliberate physical touc …