The latest articles on DEV Community by THEFIFTYSEEN (@thefiftyseen). https://dev.to/thefiftyseen https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3972246%2F2820cbe2-bad9-48a3-926e-d5bbc0926f11.jpg https://dev.to/thefiftyseen en THEFIFTYSEEN Sun, 07 Jun 2026 08:37:32 +0000 https://dev.to/thefiftyseen/im-15-from-siberia-built-a-humanitarian-map-after-meeting-a-sudanese-refugee-on-discord-d64 https://dev.to/thefiftyseen/im-15-from-siberia-built-a-humanitarian-map-after-meeting-a-sudanese-refugee-on-discord-d64 <h2> How HelpNearby started </h2> <p>November 2025. I was scrolling TikTok in my bedroom in Prokopyevsk, Siberia. A video showed Yale Humanitarian Research Lab satellite images of El-Fasher, Sudan. Red patches on the ground. I thought they were cattle from space. They weren't — they were blood from killed people, visible from orbit.</p> <p>I closed the phone. Did nothing.</p> <h2> The Discord moment </h2> <p>February 2026. I was looking for English speakers to play GTA 5. Random Discord interaction. Someone sent me the Discord mascot sticker. I asked "who r u?" He said "same question." Turned out he was half Sudanese, half Russian, fled Sudan to Egypt when the war got bad.</p> <p>That's when it connected in my head.</p> <h2> Building HelpNearby </h2> <ul> <li>April 16, 2026 — started Webflow prototype</li> <li>May 12 — submitted to SDG Submit competition. Rejected.</li> <li>May 15 — almost gave up. Sent my Sudanese friend the link anyway, no expectations. He replied: "I was just talking with my friend in Sudan and he said it's working great."</li> <li>May 17 — rebuilt seriously on Next.js.</li> </ul> <p>His friend was using my buggy prototype in an active war zone.</p> <h2> What it is now </h2> <p><a href="https://help-nearby.org" rel="noopener noreferrer">help-nearby.org</a> — multilingual humanitarian platform helping people in crisis find free emergency assistance.</p> <ul> <li>114+ verified organizations across 5 countries (Russia, Kazakhstan, Sudan, UAE, Belarus)</li> <li>7 languages including Arabic with RTL support</li> <li>Lite mode under 200KB for slow connections in conflict zones</li> <li>UN OCHA databases integrated (HDX, GDHO)</li> </ul> <h2> Tech stack </h2> <ul> <li>Next.js 16 + TypeScript</li> <li>Supabase (PostgreSQL) for verified directory</li> <li>Tailwind CSS for styling</li> <li>Leaflet + react-leaflet for maps</li> <li>OpenStreetMap + Overpass API for live POI search</li> <li>Nominatim for geocoding</li> <li>OSRM for routing</li> <li>Groq (Llama 3.3 70B) for AI chat assistance</li> <li>PostHog for analytics</li> <li>Vercel for hosting</li> <li>Playwright for E2E tests (14 passing)</li> </ul> <h2> Status </h2> <ul> <li>Live: help-nearby.org</li> <li>GitHub: github.com/pizenkov13-boop/Help-Nearby</li> <li>MIT licensed</li> <li>Submitting to Zayed Sustainability Prize 2027 (Global High Schools category, deadline June 22)</li> <li>Revenue: $0. Not monetized yet.</li> </ul> <h2> Origin context </h2> <p>I'm 15. Self-taught. From Prokopyevsk — a small industrial city in Siberia where most people work in coal mines or factories. Family income around $30K/year. No bootcamps, no tutors, no CS prep. Just Cursor + Claude + a lot of debugging.</p> <p>HelpNearby exists because someone in a war zone shouldn't need a VPN, paywalls, or scattered NGO websites to find a shelter.</p> <h2> Open questions </h2> <ul> <li>Best practices for low-bandwidth web apps in conflict zones?</li> <li>Anyone built humanitarian tech with verified data partnerships?</li> <li>Migration considerations from Vercel for global reach?</li> </ul> <p>Feedback welcome.</p> codenewbie showdev sideprojects webdev