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Crowd2Map Tanzania (https://crowd2map.org/) is a crowdsourced volunteer-based mapping project set up by Tanzania Development Trust (TDT) (http://tanzdevtrust.org/), a volunteer-run UK charity established in 1975 to help grassroots projects in rural Tanzania. Crowd2Map aims to put rural Tanzania on the map. Since 2015, they have been adding schools, hospitals, roads, buildings and villages to OpenStreetMap (OSM), an open source map available to all, with the help of over 13,500 volunteers worldwide and 1500 on the ground in Tanzania. With minimal budget and no staff, they have so far added over 4.2 million buildings. In 2017, they were awarded a microgrant by Humanitarian OpenStreetMap to train community mappers in 8 areas of Tanzania, and in 2018 they ran a mapathon as part of the UN general assembly in New York, sponsored by UNFPA. They have also set up 8 different Youthmappers Chapters in Tanzania, and organized two Open Data Day events there, as well as the first State of the Map Tanzania in 2023.

Through mapping buildings in OpenStreetMap, Crowd2Map Tanzania is a mission to protect girls at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM). Crowd2Map Tanzania attracts a great number of new mappers from all over the world to add data to OSM in Tanzania.

FGM prevalence in Tanzania. Map provided by United Nations https://tanzania.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Factsheet_fgmbackground_21jan_websmall2.pdf

Six GISCorps volunteers from around the world were selected for the mission:

  • Debrah Kapemba (Zambia)
  • Eliud Saenz (USA)
  • Eric Dircksen (USA)
  • Gouri Vishnubatla (USA)
  • Hashini Buddhika (Sri Lanka)
  • Keren Wang’ombe (Kenya)

The volunteers began with mapping buildings on OSM, onboarding new volunteers registered through United Nations website, and validating mappers work using iD editor and Java OSM (JOSM). Feedback were provided to mappers via the HOT Tasking Manager and Slack. The volunteers also created district and ward maps using ArcGIS Pro and analyzed the OSM data using QGIS.

GISCorps volunteers validating data and providing feedback to mappers.
Kyerwa Ward Map

Crowd2Map provided maps to help local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), grassroot organizations, and activists to physically get to girls at risk of FGM, which usually knocks as unannounced overnight danger into these lives of girls and young women. Girls and communities can use the maps to locate rescue centers and safe houses in Butiama and Serengeti, set up by a victim and activist Rhobi Samwelly who dedicated her life to advocate for the local girls.

Project Completed.

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