Inspiration
I was initially inspired to participate in this Hackathon because I've always wanted to do more to impact Africa, especially Kenya where I'm from. I was further inspired by what the African Library Project is already doing in Africa. I looked into the way they support literacy in Africa and looked for ways to enhance their reach. I realized that librarians that partner with the African Library Project have to document their transactions on paper which can be very tedious and frustrating, so I came up with an app that would alleviate that stress.
What it does
This app is meant to make it easier for independent librarians to document transactions rather than using pen and paper. Anyone can create and account, log-in, and keep track of books that are checked-out. It is a platform for librarians. The ability to login is necessary for multiple librarians to have access to the product.
How I built it
I used React Native and referenced React Navigation's library. I began development in snack and migrated to android studio when I had a basic skeleton.
Challenges I ran into
This was my first time using React Native and I spent most of the week just setting up the project. However, when I was able to get the project working, React Native allowed for quick development. I used Firebase's authentication and database for logging users in and storing data.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
I'm proud that I managed to implement my idea to some degree. I'm also proud that I can say I've built an app, though it barely works.
What I learned
I learned that expo is really annoying. I also learned that I love developing apps and would like to improve my skills.
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