It’s official: we’re back in Kenya after more than a month visiting family in the US and having meetings and vacation in Europe.
Of course, while we were away, the largest natural disaster since the Asian tsunami took its toll on one small country in the Caribbean. So, as we begin to engage with the next steps of our work here in Kenya, we’re also thinking of the still urgent needs on the other side of the globe.
In fact, OpenStreetMap volunteers around the world have already been quite active making the digital map of Haiti more complete in order to aid relief workers. But now, we have been asked by Ushahidi and Google to consider what it might take to include mapping of Port-au-Prince slums in the response effort. As in Nairobi, these slums are not included in any map that’s been so far made available. Thinking of Map Kibera and our experiences here, how might these efforts be replicated in Port-au-Prince? This could help relief efforts reach into the slums and for the Ushahidi response, would help locate some of the reports and requests for help. It might ensure that slum dwellers are not neglected and have the same access to relief as others. In the long run, such a mapping exercise might bring more local control to the rebuilding process, providing a platform for advocacy for the residents of the informal areas and helping them to assess their own needs.
Of course, Kibera is not Cite Soleil, and we aren’t sure just how much more difficult a mapping exercise might be after a disaster this extreme – or even during normal times. Several years ago, I paid a brief visit to an informal settlement in Port-au-Prince where Haitian staff of the NGO I worked for were afraid to go to work due to insecurity, and the clinic was frequently closed. One thing we are sure of, and that’s the necessity of having local partners who work in the informal settlements and can quickly advise us of the need and feasibility of a mapping activity.
Our questions:
- What are the current conditions in the slums? This is something I haven’t found out from the continual stream of media reports on the Haiti situation.
- What are the possibilities of carrying out either a brief mapping in those areas highlighting landmarks and road names, for immediate use, or a long-term community mapping similar to Map Kibera?
- Remote OpenStreetMap contributors … is there anything further to contribute from satellite imagery and other data sources in the informal areas highlighted by this KMZ layer compiled by Anna Schulz?
We would love to hear from those of you active on the ground or with any useful contacts in Port-au-Prince.