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The first annual do_action Charity Hackathon organized by the WordPress Community in Port Harcourt brought out nearly 200 people to the Rivers State’s Tech Creek to help build a website for deserving Charity organizations.
The event was organized in partnership with the WordPress Foundation and was sponsored by KiniTaxi, Upperlink, GrottoPress, KanpeHost and Cybzity. The goal was to create a website for deserving NGOs in the region, and to afford them the opportunity to showcase their good work to the world, without spending a dime; in total, 6 NGOs participated with about 200 volunteers involved.
The far more important part of organizing do_action was putting together the team – two heads are better that one, so the saying goes – or in this case, five heads are better than one. The organizing team included me (Anthony Great), Alex Itekena, Chukwudi Igbojionu, Steve Coptech and Silva Agbaetuo. We had a lot of experience organizing events, but no experience with do_action, none of us had attended any before now; but we were able to solve that with videos, blogs (P2s) and a lot of pictures from other do_action hackathons around the world – so we had an idea of what do_acton is meant to be.
The event itself was splited into two days – the first being a brief meeting with NGO reps and Project managers, the goal of this meeting was to create a rapport among the Project Managers and their NGOs.
Then came the hackathon day itself, which started with a brief introduction to the NGOs and their teams; followed by some coffee/tea and the hacking itself. We had a little lunch break between the hack but we were all set by 16:30. NGO reps were in an intense WordPress Workshop presented by three awesome speakers from 12:00 to 16:30
Project Managers did a demo presentation and the judges voted and picked a winner which happened to be the team headed by Derek Vinebo – Team Young Star. We had a little more snacks and took some pictures, we were done for the day. That wasn’t to say that everything went according to plan….
WHAT WENT WELL?
What we could be proud of is the way we were able to attract volunteers – Port Harcourt already had a very vibrant WordPress Community, so that string wasn’t too hard to pull. We even had up to seven volunteers per team. Food was extremely interesting and the MC did a good job organizing and sticking to time.
WHAT WASN’T TOO GOOD?
First off, communication with hosting partners was kinda limited to email, which was in turn – slow. Media guys under-performed with delivery, they actually took a lot of amazing pictures but we saw only a few and couldn’t lay our eyes on any videos, Internet wasn’t too strong, we had relied mostly on the venues internet which wasn’t excellent too.
We also printed litte T shirts that couldn’t get to everyone – at the end, only organizers and project managers got swags.
Obviously, volunteers couldn’t complete all the websites, mainly because of time straints and limited resources, while some NGO reps wasn’t that cooperative with their teams. Some NGOs had no domains and was unwilling to buy one, so the website was created on a subdomain for them until they could afford a domain
WHAT WE COULD DO BETTER?
If we had to do it all again, well – we’d basically begin preparation way early, try to get more sponsors for us to print more swags, invest more on internet – and use multiple ISPs. And, yeah – domains too, maybe we could sponsor domains for the NGOs next time.
We’d also focus more on the pre-event to get everyone on the same page, so as to avoid misunderstandings. Lastly, we’ll try to get hosting accounts setup-ed a week – or so – before the hack.
PROJECT WE HELPED BUILT
Young Star Emancipation
youngstaremancipation.org
Youngstar Emancipation Foundation (formerly known as Youth Rescue Movement) is a mentoring and training platform seeking to build young people that will say “NO” to vices by engaging the youth on campaigns, talk shows, seminars, conferences, and one-on-one (interactive discussions) through enlightening them on the dangers associated with these vices and to strive towards better health to increase their knowledge of positive habits in schools, churches/mosque and towns.
Knit Foundation
knittogetherinitiative.org/
KTI is an advocacy and campaign organization that works to empower young people, to build resilience, determination in themselves and the society. As a non-profit organization, KTI promotes the well-being of all with no regard for social class. KTI is a youth-led, youth-focused organization registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, Nigeria (CAC/IT/NO 102523). Inspired by the challenges and opportunities in the Niger Delta region, and in Nigeria.
What She Needs To Know Foundation
wsntk.gmfworld.org
We are here not for income, but for outcome. Low self-esteem comes from how we are conditioned or have been conditioned by other people. If you have been systematic criticized, insulted or bullied in some way then you will more likely to have absorbed the negative messages about yourself from other people, particularly if you were young when it happened because we tend to learn more quickly and deeply when we are young. We as an organization #WhatSheNeedsToKnow is geared towards eliminating low self-esteem, conquer deep insecurities and other social abuses towards the girl child through Education and Advocacy and raise females who are fearless in their community upholding positive traits.
Oloibiri Foundation
Oloibiri Youngsters Foundation is a registered Non-Governmental and Non-Profit initiative which represents a social movement to shift the African Narrative from the point of dependence to one of responsibility in order to contribute to the development of a safe, sustainable, balanced and successful Africa
Beyond Barriers
techpadi.com.ng/wpphc/
Is an innovative social enterprise that engages students in Nigeria rural communities and connects them to young professionals as mentors, equipping them with prerequisite skills in Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Academic Development (LEAD) for global relevance.
PeakLadies
peakladies.com.ng
Peak Ladies is a platform for the voiceless woman, rehabilitating, training, and empowering, and making her a voice count.
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Nice article Anthony Great.
Can’t easily forget in the cooporation of the great organizers and all participants which made the occasion successful, it was really awesome. I give it to WordPress Port Harcourt for a successful 2018 do_action_ph