Earlier this summer, Self sponsored EthGlobal Cannes to support builders leveraging zero-knowledge proof-of-humanity and identity solutions with mentorship, guidance, and $10K in bounties. This hackathon led to the creation of innovative projects that implemented the Self SDK, including Abena, Matthew Younatan and Sergiy Dybskiy’s Open Relief, a platform designed to be the default trust layer for humanitarian aid worldwide.

Abena, Matthew, and Sergiy brought experiences in product design, Solidity development, and front-end engineering to their work building Open Relief. Abena is a product-focused Ethereum builder with a track record of rapid prototyping at global hackathons, while Matthew has full-stack expertise with a focus on Solidity and Web3-Web2 convergence. Sergiy rounds out the team as a front-end specialist in TypeScript and React, dedicated to building intuitive user experiences for decentralized applications. 

Open Relief is built to transform disaster relief by solving two urgent crises: fraud and accessibility. Each year, billions in aid funds are lost to fraud, while many real victims are left without help due to slow, paper-based verification. Open Relief aims to address this with its fraud-proof, gasless disaster relief protocol. Using cryptographic identity verification powered by Self, the platform prevents duplicate claims, the protocol is designed to ensure only legitimate victims receive aid, and enables instant, transparent distribution of funds across borders. Donors can contribute from any blockchain, with contributions automatically converted to USDC for immediate, gasless payouts to verified victims without requiring bank accounts, wallets, or technical expertise.

Built on Celo with integrations from Circle’s CCTP v2 and Privy, Open Relief delivers real-time fraud prevention, crosschain donations, and an accessible onboarding experience for users of all crypto knowledge levels. The system combines Self’s advanced ZK verification with seamless UX to ensure aid reaches those who need it most. By leveraging Self for one-time, privacy-preserving identity verification, victims potentially gain lifetime eligibility for relief funds, improving the accessibility and speed of global disaster responses. 

To learn more about their personal inspiration and why they chose Self, we caught up with the Open Relief team. 

What inspired you to develop Open Relief?

We were moved by how disaster relief systems continue to fail at scale, fraud persists and genuine victims often go unserved. With Open Relief, our goal was to build a system where donations reach verified victims instantly and transparently, eliminating barriers and minimizing losses.

Sergiy felt this firsthand. When the war broke out in Ukraine, it was very difficult to understand which relief program would deliver the most impact at scale and in a timely manner. Without a good verification system, bad actors could also take advantage of people's goodwill in this situation. 

When did identity verification become a core pillar?

From the start. Fraud in relief efforts is rampant, with duplicate claims and bureaucratic delays. Incorporating cryptographic identity verification was essential to building a truly fair and scalable solution.

Why did you choose Self.xyz for the identity layer?

Traditional KYC is often invasive, so we wanted a solution that preserved user privacy. Self.xyz offers robust, privacy-preserving credentials (including nationality, age and sanctions checks) combined with fully on-chain cryptographic nullifier tracking to prevent double-claiming. It ensures that only eligible individuals receive aid, and can do so securely and transparently.

What’s your vision for the future of Open Relief?

We envision Open Relief becoming the global standard for private, fast, accessible, and fraud-resistant disaster aid scaled across continents, operating through trusted local partners, with blockchain infrastructure as the backbone for transparent, equitable humanitarian response.

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