This project was commissioned by Information Management and Mine Action Programs (iMMAP) who is assisting the Chadian Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) in Chad. The goals of this project were to geo-reference +/-10,000 polling stations for the entire country and then add attribute data such as type of polling station, mobile network operator available, accessibility, and time to reach from the sub-district center to that dataset. This dataset should have been used for the preparation of the upcoming legislative elections due in September 2010. Unfortunately the mission has been postponed/cancelled as the work as the data were not efficient. I believe iMMap is still waiting for a commitment from the CENI to provide better data for spatial referencing and/or support to spatially locate the polling stations. The CENI by the time was quite busy with the election census and the communication was barely possible between the CENI and iMMAP. Indeed, we needed better quality data as for spatial reference. With the data received we could hardly reference by manually linking one by one about 50% (max. 5 000 out of ~10 000) of the polling stations. 10% (about 900 polling stations) only could be automatically linked based on the village name and the rest still needed to be annually linked (about9 000). About 1 500 polling stations had no village linked to it, which made them impossible to map. I must confess I was a bit frustrated not having the possibility to end this mission nevertheless that was a great experience in the end as I have been involved in my first volunteer mission, I have been in contact with several NGO and I had the opportunity to give my expertise on geographical data.
Volunteering has been so fulfilling—helping fellow mappers across the world use the power of GIS to bring rescue, care, and repair efforts to areas in need SOONER after disaster strikes and making the seemingly unreachable reachable again for affected communities. Serving in these capacities speaks to my core, and I’m glad to be part of these missions, especially when they concern communities I have known for years, as was the case during the Hurricane Helene mission. Some of the hardest-hit areas in that storm were my homes away from home. Although I couldn’t be physically there to contribute, I was still glad to aid in the recovery efforts as “eyes from the sky” with the PhotoMappers. Everyone involved in these missions is always so engaging, and I’m very glad for the connections I’ve made in the process. Till the next mission!
Volunteering was a fantastic collaborative experience. I had the opportunity to use GIS and Esri tools in a new application, and SystemsGo was a wonderful client that would give me feedback on how users would experience the end result. I appreciate that GISCorps allowed me the opportunity to volunteer my GIS skillset! I am very grateful for this experience and highly recommend it to anyone who has the extra time and bandwidth.
My experience volunteering for GISCorps with Run Her Way was highly impactful. Together with the organization's team, we explored the ambitions and goals of Run Her Way and discussed how ArcGIS products could best support these objectives. Based on this, we established a workflow that spans from data collection and analysis to a dynamic, living document where all information comes together and users are informed in one central place. Being able to contribute to a meaningful initiative like Run Her Way by applying technical expertise has been a fantastic experience!
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