Inspiration
ReadyRefugee was created due to the lack of resources that refugees have to deal with. A refugee by definition is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence. The impact of this is already hard enough, having to be planted in a whole new world, removed from the only home you've ever known. Not knowing the future of your family and if you'll ever return back home. For this reason, our mission was to make their lives easier and guide them in the right direction by providing support and helpful information in an easy to access way.
What it does
Firstly, our website allows users to donate to those in need. Moving to a whole new country, while also being in financial trouble could make the difference between life or death. We made it easy for users on the website to donate quickly so that there isn't confusion in searching for where to donate. We also provided options for volunteering and for users to participate in advocacy. We also have another page for extra support services such as counseling, language support, and basic needs for them such as food pantries, clothing drives, and opportunities to access essential supplies for them. Finally, we made a webpage that easily accesses different housing options in the different coasts of the US.
How we built it
We built it by using HTML, CSS, and javascript. We used different HTML elements to make the website more interactive such as links and different buttons, while also trying to make it as easy to use as possible. We also used google maps embed API requests.
Challenges we ran into
We ran into many issues regarding formatting. For example, sometimes our elements would be all over the place or would not look cohesive, so we would have to try to trouble shoot the issue. Another big aspect of this project, was embedding google maps into our website. We had never done it before and it was a challenge trying to put it into the website. We also ran into issues regarding research and trying to find up to date information for them.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We are most proud of embedding google maps APIs and continuing to move forward in the face of challenge. Multiple times we we thinking about giving up, but we still persevered even if we didn't know if our website was going to turn out okay. We are proud of our formatting and trying to understand how it works. We are also proud of all the research we did.
What we learned
We learned so much from this experience. We again learned a lot of programming and web development. Not only did we learn more about programming, but we also learned so much about the situations of refugees and different opportunities for them. Which is why it is great that we do this research since they are new to this country and it is harder for them to learn more about opportunities in the US since they are not originally from here.
What's next for ReadyRefugee
ReadyRefugee is hoping to expand to other states instead of only focusing on the coasts. We also hope for a way for high schoolers to expand our organization by opening non-profit chapters all over the country or even globally. For this we need to make another page for high schoolers to submit applications and show interests in taking up this cause.
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