Inspiration
Millions of people around the world are affected by food scarcity. In addition, a sizable amount of food is lost each day. Meanwhile, many organizations work tirelessly to provide food and support to those in need. Our website aims to bridge this gap by providing a platform for individuals and businesses to donate their excess food to these organizations, helping them in their mission to combat hunger. Our main intention was to bring such people to the foreground by means of technology.
What it does
On our website, the users and NGOs can mark the location of the people in need they encounter and enter details such as the number of persons there and if the food was provided to them. After the pin is plotted, an alert will be sent to the NGOs, and their volunteers can travel there and hand out food to the locals. To prevent conflicts caused by several members of the NGOs trying to support the same person, the members of NGOs will date food donations as they are created and delivered to the assigned location.
How we built it
We have developed a full-stack web application using Python, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, Google Maps API, Google Auth, and MySQL. We have also implemented Google Auth to ensure that only verified NGOs can register and create accounts on the platform. This helps to prevent spam accounts and fraudulent activities on the platform. We have implemented Google maps where users can plot the location of people who need food and help. Our platform uses MySQL as a backend database to store user information, NGO locations, and other relevant data. Overall, our project aims to provide a seamless and efficient way for NGOs to provide food and shelter to homeless people, while also making it easier for homeless people to find the help they need.
Challenges we ran into
While developing our web application we encountered some challenges while integrating Google Authentication and Google Maps to React JS, we were able to get the authentication to work initially, but then we encountered an issue where the user's authentication status was not being persisted across page refreshes where we had to code in Python and parse that too React JS. Another issue we faced was with the Google Maps API it worked with JavaScript but when we tried to integrate it with React JS where we spent several hours debugging and researching the issue to fix it.
Despite these challenges, we were ultimately able to successfully integrate both Google Authentication and Google Maps into our React JS web application. We learned a lot from the experience and were able to improve our development process going forward.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We achieved a visual prototype of what we wanted to do and we are proud of our commitment to the team to ongoing development and improvement of the platform for a good cause. We are proud of the fact that we were able to create a platform that is accessible and easy to use for all users, regardless of their technical expertise. We achieved this by prioritizing user-centered design, conducting user testing, and implementing features that meet the needs of our target audience.
What we learned
We also learned the importance of effective project management and communication. Our team is comprised of members from diverse backgrounds, with varying levels of expertise in the technologies used for the project. We had to work together efficiently and effectively, assigning tasks, setting deadlines, and communicating regularly to ensure that the project progressed smoothly.
What's next for G4G
One area we plan to expand on is medical help. Many individuals often have limited access to medical care, and we believe that our platform can help connect them with healthcare providers and services. We plan to integrate a feature that allows NGOs to list medical services they offer, such as first aid, health checkups, and consultations. Additionally, we aim to partner with healthcare providers and volunteers to offer free or subsidized medical services to homeless people.
Another area for improvement is the addition of clothes and basic essentials to our platform. Many people often lack access to basic necessities such as clothing, toiletries, and personal hygiene products. We plan to create a feature that allows NGOs to list and offer these essential items to them. We aim to partner with manufacturers and retailers to source and distribute these items to NGOs.
We also plan to incorporate a notification system that will send alerts to NGOs whenever a user is marked for help and will update the Google maps plots and also add a timestamp of the last time help was provided for the user. We will also work with the NGO to communicate with end-users regarding available services, events, and opportunities. We believe that this will increase awareness and engagement with the platform and encourage more people to seek help.
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.