CIVshield

Inspiration

We were deeply moved by the stories of ordinary people caught in extraordinary suffering. Families in Sudan, Ukraine, Palestine, and so many other places who are simply trying to survive each day. Hearing how civilians navigate chaos without a reliable map, without guidance, and sometimes without even an internet connection made us realize how isolating and terrifying conflict can be. That sense of helplessness is what inspired us to build something that could offer even a small measure of clarity, comfort, and hope when people need it most.

What it does

CIVshield helps civilians in conflict zones stay safe by showing real-time danger and safe areas on a map, offering instant AI-generated safety instructions, and providing a fully offline survival manual when connectivity fails.

How we built it

We built a React Native app powered by Google Maps for visualizing danger zones, a Node.js/Express backend that connects to Gemini for AI-driven safety advice, and Firestore for storing safe zones and reports. We also designed a custom offline survival manual so users can access essential information anytime.

Challenges we ran into

We all struggled into working on the code at the same time, since there are 5 contributors. We decided to split our work into separate branches and thus making our work easier.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re proud that in just 24 hours, we built something that could genuinely help people who feel lost, scared, or disconnected during conflict. Seeing CIVshield come to life reminded us that technology can be more than a project, it can be a lifeline. We’re especially proud of creating an offline survival manual and an AI safety assistant, knowing that even in the moments when the world goes dark, our app can still offer clarity, comfort, and hope.

What we learned

We learned how to design for safety and clarity under crisis conditions, how to integrate AI effectively without overwhelming users, and how to build mobile apps with both online and offline reliability. We also deepened our understanding of human-centered design in conflict scenarios.