Contributions to an open-source project can take many forms: bug reports, code fixes, documentation updates, etc. But for our PHP developer, Gabriela Walczyk, the best way to give back to the community was to choose Git–an essential tool for developers to support financially this month.
In addition to the open-source projects, we donate monthly to charity. Gabriela aims to make a positive impact as effectively as possible. For this reason, The Hunger Project–fighting hunger and poverty–seemed an obvious choice for her, so it will also receive our support.
Git
Git is an open-source project and a tool allowing developers to manage changes to a source code and collaborate on software development projects.
“It’s a vital tool for programmers,” says Gabriela, adding: “Git enables multiple people to work on the same code simultaneously. It also allows us to go back through the history of changes and makes completing tasks less stressful. If something goes wrong–changes can always quickly roll back. Once you start using it, you can’t imagine working without it.”
The key feature of Git is the ability to work offline. Each developer has a local copy of the repository to work on independently. Later changes can be merged back into the main repository when they are ready to be shared.
Some other Git features include:
- Support for multiple users
- Built-in conflict resolution tools
- Support for annotated tags
- The ability to manage large files
Git has become a popular choice for version control in the software development industry. Companies such as Google, Facebook, and Microsoft and open-source projects use it. However, many available tools and services integrate with Git, such as GitHub, Bitbucket, and GitLab.
The Hunger Project
The Hunger Project is a global organization fighting hunger and poverty across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Its mission is to provide those in need with the necessary tools, knowledge, and resources to achieve sustainable progress.
“According to UNdata, from early 2022, 850 million people are at risk of dying of hunger, and this number has been increasing instead of decreasing over recent years. Martin Caparrós tells the story of many of these people in his reportage, ‘Hunger.’ He looks closer at the causes and consequences of extreme malnutrition and gives the problem the face of suffering people. After reading this book, my choice of organization was obvious. The Hunger Project considers the broad spectrum of the problem and seeks to eradicate the root of it through its actions.”, explains Gabriela.
There are three pillars of The Hunger Project:
- Empowering women
- Mobilizing communities for self-reliant action
- Supporting effective partnerships with local government
By engaging communities, the organization helps to identify their needs and aspirations and works with them to develop strategies to achieve their goals. The organization also provides training and resources to help individuals and communities build the skills and knowledge needed to take action. Finally, The Hunger Project works with other organizations, governments, and the private sector to create a global network of supporters committed to ending hunger and poverty.