RHoK Gambia which started as the first RHoK event in Africa this year before the addition of South
Africa in the latter stage of the event brought together technology experts, IT professionals
and computer programmers in the country and abroad to solve problems laid forward by institutions
currently based in The Gambia.
Problem definitions focused on weather reporting and microfinance. Two partners in the Gambia
meteorology department and the Gambia Women’s Finance Association (GAWFA) identified problems
within their institutions that they believed, if solved, would create a positive change that could impact
the lives of many.
In two days, “hackers” in four teams worked on solution provision hoping to first of all, create viable
solutions for these institutions and secondly, win first prize from The Gambia’s group of four judges.
After two days of very tedious work on the different problem definitions, the groups were able to
come up with solutions that were not only amazing (especially given the short time frame) but also
very practical. From the use of mobile phone technology to the creation of practical microfinance
solutions, they presented solutions that the affected institutions accepted would solve their problems
and promised to continue developing the solutions to take care of sustainability and practicability.
The winning team of RHoK Gambia worked on the microfinance project and were singled out for their
group coordination and task definitions in creating a very practical solution that was open to even
more growth and development. They had created an open-source solution which could be used by any
microfinance organization in the world and would continue to develop it into something even more
perfect with programmers all over the world.
The first RHoK event in The smiling coast has registered a huge success and has created real-time
solutions to real-time problems and has brought together a group of young experts that have promised
to continue to provide “Random Hacks of Kindness” whenever called upon to do so. A thread of
development for The Gambia and its modern technology based systems has begun with the event and
will continue to grow from it.
Special thanks go to the organizers, Balafong Causes, YACT, ISOC and ITAG;
RHoK Gambia was sponsored by Unique Solutions, Africell, Solution Street, Cotton World and Africmed.
Together we all made a difference.
-- Latirr Carr