Introduction

As we look back on the month of October, we at Chimoney are filled with gratitude for the incredible support and participation during Hacktoberfest 2023. This year Chimoney marked its second consecutive year of active participation in Hacktoberfest and it was amazing!

Throughout October, Chimoney witnessed great enthusiasm from the open-source community, with over 20+ developers contributing to various Chimoney-related projects. These contributions ranged from bug fixes on previously built projects and documentation improvements to feature enhancements and new integrations.

This year's Hacktoberfest efforts focused on two key areas:

1. Improving Accessibility, Refining Documentation, and Developing Integrations

Making Chimoney's READMe Accessible to All

Several contributors took on the initiative of localizing our READMe documentation and their efforts resulted in translations into various languages, including Japanese, Spanish, German, Korean, and Chinese. These translations not only help non-English speaking developers to contribute effectively but also exemplify Chimoney's dedication to building a diverse and inclusive open-source ecosystem.

Improving Chimoney's API Documentation

We prioritize developer experience by continuously refining our API documentation based on valuable feedback from the developer community. This year we sought and received feedback from contributors on how to make our API documentation better to ensure it is clear and comprehensive.

Expanding Chimoney API Integrations

Contributors actively developed new integrations with the Chimoney API, specifically for platforms such as Discord, Slack, Telegram, and GitHub.

2. Increasing Collaboration and Community Engagement

Organizing Hacktoberfest Contributhons

During the initial two weekends of Hacktoberfest, we organized Contributhons at the Technical University of Kenya and conducted a joint session with Maseno University and Masinde Muliro University. Surprisingly, nearly 70% of the students were new to the concept of open source and had never contributed to such projects. It was fulfilling to introduce them to the world of open source, providing guidance on their initial contributions. Through these events, we successfully introduced 160 students to the open-source community, inspiring them to embrace collaboration and continuous learning. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with participants eagerly immersing themselves in the world of open-source!

Engaging with Contributors

Chimoney actively engaged with contributors throughout the month through weekly office hours, providing mentorship, support, and recognition for their efforts. This engagement helped to create a welcoming and supportive environment for the open-source community.

Featured Contributions

• Amos Ayomide developed the Chimoney Discord, WhatsApp, and Telegram integration bots, providing convenient access to Chimoney transactions within these popular messaging platforms.
• Limeskies created the Slack integration, facilitating money transfers within a Slack workspace. Users can effortlessly send money to other users through simple commands, leaving the bot to handle the intricacies of the transaction.
• Ayo Awemidipupo built the GitHub bot enabling direct rewards to GitHub contributors via Chimoney, providing a streamlined approach to recognizing contributions!
• Kartikey Singh built Secret Santa, a platform that facilitates anonymous gifting among friends and colleagues using Chimoney.
• Limeskies enhanced the BaseAPI for Environment Switching, introducing a Sandbox Option for the Python SDK, simplifying development and testing environments for developers.

Incentives

To encourage participation, we rewarded contributors with $25 for each merged pull request that was considered a significant contribution. This served as a tangible expression of gratitude and a motivator for continued engagement for the contributors.

Milestones Achieved in 2023

We had incredible growth this year and here are the highlights:

• Pull Requests (PRs): 67 submitted PRs with 45 of them approved!
• Contributors: 31 total contributors, representing an 82% increase from 2022's 17 contributors.
• Global Participation: We had active participation from individuals in India, Nigeria, Kenya, and Bangladesh!
• Issues: 90+ issues created
• Forks: We passed 100+ forks and stars!

Testimonials from Chimoney Hacktoberfest 2023

The success of Chimoney Hacktoberfest 2023 was not only measured by the number of contributions but also by the positive impact it had on the developer community. To capture the essence of this impact, we gathered testimonials from participants, sharing their experiences and learnings from it.

From Novice to Contributor

"It was amazing to work with and contribute to Chimoney, as a beginner in open source, I think this was a very good platform to start with and most importantly the rewards that came along were for sure a booster for all the contributors." - ~Adarsh

 

A Collaborative Experience

"I had a wonderful experience participating in Hacktoberfest with Chimoney. The collaborative spirit among the team members made the event enjoyable. Whenever unexpected issues or bugs arose, the team consistently exhibited readiness and agility in addressing them. This collective effort not only made the event successful but also reflected the team's commitment to delivering a quality experience. I appreciate the collaborative atmosphere and the team's proactive approach to problem-solving during Hacktoberfest with Chimoney." - ~Kartikey

 

Gratitude for Community Support

"I began contributing to open source a month before Hacktoberfest 2023 and discovered Chimoney among the accepted repositories. Identifying a bug in their API documentation link, I raised an issue and fixed it through a PR, it got merged and received $25, which I used to purchase a headset for my tech learning. This marked my second merged PR, and I expressed gratitude to Chimoney for the opportunity. I also opened a new issue, showcasing my excitement about contributing via Gitpod directly from the browser. Phylis and Uchi's patience during PR reviews stood out as a positive experience in my journey." - ~ Harlimat

 

What's next after Hacktoberfest?

While the Chimoney Hacktoberfest has officially concluded, the journey of open-source contribution and community engagement continues. We encourage our contributors to maintain their momentum and continue contributing to our open-source projects. We still have open issues you can take up here.

For any follow-up questions or guidance in case you're new to open source reach out on our Discord Server. To our remarkable community, thank you for being the driving force behind Chimoney Hacktoberfest's success. We look forward to continuing our journey with you next year!