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SiBot (Social Impact Bot) is a multilingual AI information hub built for refugees and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom. It helps people access NHS services, understand asylum procedures, find housing, apply for benefits, and navigate the legal system — in English, Russian, Tajik, Uzbek, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Ukrainian.
The project is run by Mendee CIC, a Community Interest Company based in East London. SiBot was originally funded through the Mayor of London’s Poverty Prevention Challenge with a £48,000 grant from the Greater London Authority.
What SiBot Does
SiBot has four core components that work together to support refugees at every stage of their journey in the UK:
- AI Chatbot — a conversational AI trained on verified UK asylum, healthcare, and integration information. Available in 7 languages, accessible around the clock. Built on open-source models (Ollama, Open WebUI) running on dedicated hardware in London.
- Information Hub — comprehensive guides covering screening interviews, Section 95 housing, ARC cards, GP registration, work permits, and appeal procedures. Accessible at StartNewLife.uk.
- Community Network — a peer support network of 2,000+ refugees and asylum seekers across Telegram and WhatsApp. Over 253,000 messages exchanged. Real questions, real answers, with casework support from the Mendee team.
- Video Content — a YouTube channel with detailed walkthroughs on asylum interviews, appeals, first steps in the UK, and practical guidance in Russian and community languages.
The Technology: Open-Source AI
SiBot v2 runs entirely on open-source infrastructure hosted in Mendee’s London office at Workspace Lock Studios. The system uses Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) to answer questions from verified StartNewLife.uk content rather than generating ungrounded responses.
- AI Engine: Ollama + Open WebUI running local large language models (Llama, Mistral, Gemma) on Apple Silicon
- Knowledge Base: RAG pipeline built on StartNewLife.uk content and verified asylum information
- Infrastructure: Dedicated hardware running 24/7, Cloudflare Tunnel for secure public access
- Privacy: All processing happens locally — no user data sent to external APIs, GDPR-compliant by design
- Cost: £0/month operational cost — open-source models, own hardware, own office
Impact and Recognition
SiBot was selected as a winner of the GLA’s Poverty Prevention Challenge in July 2023. The project received £48,000 in total grant funding and was delivered between August 2023 and January 2024 with 100% of milestones met.
- 197 web app users in the first month after launch
- 631 active chat participants during the delivery period
- 1,129 Telegram subscribers at project completion
- 8 refugee volunteers onboarded as community moderators
- 2,000+ community members by 2026 (organic growth)
- 253,000+ messages exchanged in community channels
The Ecosystem
SiBot is the AI layer of a wider support ecosystem built by Mendee for refugees in the UK:
- StartNewLife.uk — the main information hub with practical guides in 7 languages
- Skybow — LGBTQ+ peer support for individuals from Central Asia
- Svoi.uk — practical guides for Russian-speaking migrants
- PRVD.LDN — certified translation services in 6 Central Asian and Eastern European languages
- Mendee Digital — the commercial sister company providing technology infrastructure
What’s Next
SiBot’s roadmap focuses on meeting refugees where they already are — integrating the AI chatbot directly into Telegram and WhatsApp channels. The team is expanding the knowledge base to cover appeals, fresh claims, family reunion, and local authority services. A white-label version of SiBot is being developed for other refugee charities and local councils to deploy with their own content.