🪪 refugee_digital_identity

Blockchain Self-Sovereign Identity for the Unbanked

ZK-proof credentials + micro-savings wallet — accessible with just a phone number

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🌍 The Problem

1.4 billion adults worldwide are completely excluded from financial services.

For refugees and displaced persons, it's worse:

• Fleeing conflict = losing all documents (passport, ID, birth certificate)
• No documents → no bank account → no job → no housing → no legal status
• Aid organisations cannot verify identity → cash transfers go missing
• 84 million forcibly displaced people as of 2022 (UNHCR)
• In Algeria: 100,000+ refugees (mostly sub-Saharan), with no formal identity

The compounding tragedy: A refugee may have been a doctor, engineer, or teacher — but without verifiable credentials, they cannot prove it. Their human capital is invisible.

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✅ The Solution

A Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) system that:

1. Creates a DID — a W3C-standard Decentralised Identifier anchored on Polygon
2. Issues Verifiable Credentials — attested by NGOs, UNHCR, local organisations
3. Proves without revealing — Zero-Knowledge Proofs: prove "I am over 18" without revealing your birthdate
4. Holds micro-savings — a non-custodial wallet linked to the DID
5. Works offline — credentials cached on device, verified via QR code
6. Phone-number bootstrap — no email, no internet required to start

Person arrives (no documents)
        ↓  NGO verifies face + biometrics
DID created on Polygon (W3C DID standard)
        ↓  Verifiable Credentials issued
Credential wallet (phone)
        ↓  ZK-proof generated locally
Verifier checks proof (no raw data exposed)
        ↓  Access granted
Bank account / job / housing / aid

---

🧮 Core Cryptography

W3C DID Document

{
  "id": "did:polygon:0x7f3a...c291",
  "verificationMethod": [{
    "id": "did:polygon:0x7f3a...c291#key-1",
    "type": "EcdsaSecp256k1VerificationKey2019",
    "publicKeyHex": "04a3f2..."
  }],
  "authentication": ["did:polygon:0x7f3a...c291#key-1"]
}

Verifiable Credential (W3C VC Data Model)

{
  "@context": ["https://www.w3.org/2018/credentials/v1"],
  "type": ["VerifiableCredential", "RefugeeIdentityCredential"],
  "issuer": "did:polygon:unhcr-algeria-0x...",
  "credentialSubject": {
    "id": "did:polygon:0x7f3a...c291",
    "name": "Ahmad",
    "nationality": "Syrian",
    "registrationDate": "2026-03-06",
    "skills": ["medicine", "arabic", "french"]
  },
  "proof": { "type": "EcdsaSecp256k1Signature2019", "jws": "eyJ..." }
}

Zero-Knowledge Age Proof (Schnorr-based)

Prover knows: birthdate b, commitment C = Hash(b || r)
Prove:        b < current_date - 18_years
Without:      revealing b or r

Protocol:
  1. Prover: v ← random nonce, R = g^v (commitment)
  2. Prover: c = Hash(R || statement)  (Fiat-Shamir)
  3. Prover: s = v - c·secret mod q
  4. Verifier: check g^s · PK^c = R  (verify without seeing secret)

Micro-Savings Wallet

Balance stored on Polygon (ERC-20 stablecoin — USDC/cUSD)
Transactions: gasless (sponsored by NGO/operator)
Recovery: social recovery via 3-of-5 trusted guardians
Min deposit: $0.01 — no minimum balance requirement

---

🏗️ Architecture

refugee_digital_identity/
├── core/
│   ├── did_document.py        # W3C DID creation + resolution
│   ├── verifiable_credential.py # VC issuance + verification
│   └── identity_registry.py   # On-chain DID registry (Polygon sim)
├── blockchain/
│   ├── polygon_client.py      # Polygon interaction (simulated)
│   └── smart_contract.py      # DID registry contract logic
├── zkp/
│   ├── schnorr_proof.py       # Schnorr ZK-proof (age, nationality)
│   └── zk_verifier.py         # Proof verification (no raw data)
├── wallet/
│   ├── micro_wallet.py        # Non-custodial micro-savings wallet
│   └── social_recovery.py     # Guardian-based key recovery
└── examples/
    └── refugee_onboarding.py  # Full Ahmad onboarding demo

---

⚡ Quick Start

from refugee_digital_identity import SSISystem

ssi = SSISystem(chain="polygon")

# Onboard a new person (no documents required — biometric only)
person = ssi.onboard(
    name           = "Ahmad",
    phone          = "+213-XXX-XXX",   # phone number as bootstrap
    biometric_hash = "sha256:a3f2...", # face hash (never stored raw)
    issuer_did     = "did:polygon:unhcr-algeria",
)

print(f"DID created  : {person.did}")
print(f"Wallet addr  : {person.wallet_address}")

# Issue a skill credential
credential = ssi.issue_credential(
    subject_did = person.did,
    claims      = {"skill": "medicine", "verified_by": "WHO-Algeria"},
    issuer_did  = "did:polygon:who-algeria",
)

# Generate ZK-proof of age (over 18) — reveals nothing else
proof = ssi.prove_over_18(person.did, birthyear=1990)
print(f"ZK proof     : {proof.is_valid}")
print(f"Reveals age? : {proof.reveals_birthdate}")   # False

# Deposit micro-savings
ssi.deposit(person.did, amount_usd=5.00)
print(f"Balance      : ${ssi.balance(person.did):.2f}")

---

🌍 Global Impact

Population	Count
Forcibly displaced worldwide	84 million
Stateless persons	10 million
Unbanked adults	1.4 billion
Refugees in Algeria	~100,000

What this unlocks for each person:

• Formal employment (verifiable skills/education)
• Bank account access (KYC via VC)
• Healthcare (medical history portable)
• Housing (rental with verified identity)
• Education enrollment (credential portability)
• Aid receipt (auditable, no leakage)

---

🗺️ Roadmap

• v1.0 — W3C DID creation + Polygon anchoring
• v1.0 — Verifiable Credential issuance + verification
• v1.0 — Schnorr ZK-proof (age, nationality)
• v1.0 — Micro-savings wallet (ERC-20 sim)
• v1.0 — Social recovery (3-of-5 guardians)
• v1.1 — Real Polygon testnet deployment
• v1.2 — UNHCR registration integration
• v1.3 — Arabic + French + Tamazight UI
• v2.0 — Cross-border credential portability (EU, Canada)

---

📄 License

MIT License — Copyright (c) 2026 swordenkisk github.com/swordenkisk/refugee_digital_identity

Idea score: 88.8/100 — Novelty: 96 | Feasibility: 79 | Impact: 89 From ideas_database.db — swordenkisk 🇩🇿 March 2026