Jendela

Jendela helps ex-convicts find jobs by connecting them with training centers and business partners, providing skills like cooking, makeup, and barista, offering a new start.

Comment

Jendela: A New Beginning for Ex-Convicts

💡 Inspiration

The inspiration for Jendela came from the heartbreaking stories of ex-convicts struggling to reintegrate into society. One in three ex-convicts face relentless rejection and stigma, which hinders their ability to rebuild their lives. We wanted to create a platform that not only addresses this issue but also provides a structured pathway for these individuals to regain their dignity and hope. We believe everyone deserves a second chance, and Jendela is our way of making that belief a reality.

❓ What it does

Jendela is an integrated platform that empowers ex-convicts to rebuild their lives. It connects them with training partners, offering a range of courses to develop their skills and improve their expertise. After completing training, Jendela links them with job opportunities, particularly in small and home industries that value fresh-start employees. The platform includes:

  • Training and Courses : Access to a variety of courses and training programs through partnerships with NGOs.
  • Job Matching : A job board that connects ex-convicts with employment opportunities suited to their new skills.
  • Two-Way Assessments : Monthly evaluations during the first year of employment to ensure mutual satisfaction and growth.
  • AI Assistant (Dela) : Continuous support and guidance through an AI-driven assistant.

🤔 How we built it

Frontend

Our frontend is designed to be intuitive and engaging. We used:

  • React : For building a responsive and dynamic user interface.
  • Vite : For fast development and optimized builds.
  • Shadcn UI : For consistent and aesthetically pleasing form controls.
  • TailwindCSS : For custom styling to enhance the user experience.
  • Toastify : For effective and unobtrusive notifications.

Backend

Our backend is designed to be intuitive and engaging. We used:

  • Express : For building the web application framework.
  • NodeJS : For server-side JavaScript runtime environment.
  • Firebase Firestore : For real-time database.
  • Gemini & Google GenAI : For AI-powered conversational capabilities.
  • Google Cloud : For hosting and deployment, including services like Cloud Run or App Engine.
  • Docker : For containerization and environment consistency.

👉 Challenges we ran into

This was our first experience participating in an offline hackathon, and the journey was both challenging and exhilarating. Here are some of the challenges from a developer’s perspective:

  • Time Management : Balancing time between brainstorming sessions, coding, and discussions was a significant learning curve. We had to quickly adapt and find ways to manage our time effectively.
  • Continuous Collaboration : Working in close quarters with team members day and night required excellent communication and collaboration skills. We spent countless hours discussing ideas, making coffee, and coding together, which was both exhausting and rewarding.
  • Technical Hurdles : We faced several technical challenges, including integrating various technologies, ensuring data security, optimizing performance, and determining what feature should be on MVP. Each obstacle was a learning opportunity that pushed us to improve our skills.
  • Maintaining Focus : Staying focused during long hours of coding was tough. We had to take breaks, keep each other motivated, and sometimes just step away for a bit to clear our minds.
  • Enjoying the Process : Despite the challenges, we thoroughly enjoyed the process. The sense of shared goals and the fun of building something meaningful kept us going.

🏆 Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are so proud that we managed to integrate our project with many Google products, notably Google Cloud Run and Google Generative AI. These achievements enable us to integrate and deliver our project smoothly. Other than that, using Google products also helps us to implement and realize great feature such as AI assistant using Gemini as its model.

📌 What we learned

During this project, we gained valuable technical experience, particularly in deploying our website's backend using Google Cloud Run. We also delved into integrating the Gemini AI API, utilizing Vertex AI, and exploring other Google Cloud products. This hands-on experience strengthened our understanding of cloud infrastructure and AI integration.

On the non-technical side, this being our first offline hackathon, we learned the importance of effective time management in a fast-paced, collaborative environment. We also honed our adaptability and responsiveness, quickly identifying gaps in the workflow and taking ownership of tasks as needed. This highlighted the critical role of communication in ensuring a smooth and successful project completion.

✨ What's next for Jendela

While Jendela shows great promise, there's always room for improvement. Optimizing the website's efficiency and user experience is a priority. This includes refining the interface, streamlining navigation, and ensuring fast loading times. We also may consider to extending our project to be implemented on mobile app to make it more accessible from people all arround the country.

However, the most crucial step forward is to move beyond the conceptual stage and into active collaboration with real partners and companies. By establishing partnerships with NGOs, training centers, and businesses, Jendela can provide tangible opportunities for ex-convicts to learn, grow, and contribute to society. This will involve integrating the platform with existing systems, ensuring data security and privacy, and actively seeking out employers who are open to hiring individuals with past convictions.

Built With

Share this project:

Updates