Map Kibera

Map Kibera recently embarked on the training of high schools in using OpenStreetMap and basic skills in open mapping. In partnership with YouthMappers the training has been customized to go beyond mapping since it aims to promote capacity building that will prepare high school students to join the competitive tech world.

The pioneer school benefiting from this OSM training is called Kibera Girls’ Soccer Academy (KGSA). It is located in Makina village in Kibera.

The school is among the few in the slum that has a decently equipped computer lab in which the students can hone their technical skills.

KGSA Students taking a group photo alongside Map Kibera team and YouthMappers’ team representatives

Objectives

The aim of the training program is to achieve the following:

• To ensure inclusivity of marginalized groups i.e. girls (from Kibera) in the technical space of GIS mapping and more. In recent years we have seen lots of women getting involved in open mapping projects, through this training we anticipate having more girls joining the space and also starting them this early. We hope through this that the gender gap that has been experienced in the OSM community will narrow down.
• To equip the students with skills in open mapping specifically on OpenStreetMap
• To introduce high school students to careers in mapping(GIS), Geography, and technology. And whether they take a different path in their country, it’s good to remind them that they can be a doctor or a lawyer and still be an active contributor.
• To increase map coverage by involving more people in open mapping on OSM.
• To explore training different groups i.e. high schools other than universities and organizations on open mapping; so that we can use this as a module to train other similar groups in the country.

Students getting hands-on editing using iD editor walkthrough

Progress

For this training, we have borrowed the teachOSM module, which is geared at introducing OSM to high schoolers. We have so far covered seven modules out of the twelve in the past three months (May to September).

The training has been open to all students since OpenStreetMap is all-encompassing with regard to the application of open data.

Students use field papers to identify points missing on the map and what needs to be added.

Eye on the data.

Looking forward

• Our earnest desire would be to ensure continuity of the OSM training and probably scale up to other locations of the country.

• We also hope that by the end of the training program, the students will have been equipped with skills that they can build on after their high school diploma.

• The training is also wired to be closely tied to the school curriculum to ensure relevance and harmony with the Kenyan high school education system.

Kibera News Network has been training youth from Kibera on citizen journalism and videomaking since March. The group of trainees is composed of 9 youth between 18 and 22 years old, and it’s well gender-balanced (5 females and 4 males). The training has already touched both theoretical and practical topics, such as citizen journalism and reporting, journalism ethics, scriptwriting and creation of news stories, camerawork, video making, editing, and sound.

KNN trainees during a theoretical session on citizen journalism

KNN trainees on a field training session

KNN trainees on a field training session

KNN trainees on a video editing session

Through a mixed approach of theoretical training and practical fieldwork, group and individual assignments, and working closely with the trainers, the trainees are now able to develop simple news stories from crafting the idea to the publishing part. From January, KNN has published in total 21 stories, 10 of which were produced entirely by the trainees alone. Out of the total, 3 are the investigative stories that have been published.

With the aim of aligning our mapping work with the reporting work by focusing on the same topics, a group of trainees has incorporated a hard copy of the security map developed by Map Kibera in 2017 in a video on security issues in the slum: “Is it security or insecurity in Kibera?”. The inclusion of geographic information and maps will therefore continue with the experimentation of new embedding techniques in the videos.

As part of the training, the trainees have been encouraged to participate in external free workshops on photography organized in Nairobi by CANON East Africa. Knowing also the importance of mentorship and inspiration in the education process, they have also received a one-day motivational talk at Map Kibera’s office from Jacob Otieno Omollo, head of photography and senior editor at Standard Media Group, and Stafford Ondego, sports photographer and founder of SportPicha. Mentorship has then continued with insight on investigative journalism with John-Allan Namu, investigative reporter and co-founder of the independent media house Africa Uncensored.

Jacob Otieno Omollo on his mentorship session

KNN trainees and trainers with the two mentors: Jacob Otieno Omollo and Stafford Ondego.

KNN trainees and a trainer with John-Allan Namu.

Moreover, at Map Kibera and KNN, we recognize the value of continuous and periodical assessment of both trainees and trainers. On one hand, the trainers are evaluating both soft skills (teamworking, commitment, general behavior, etc.) and technical competences acquired during the training, through individual assessments and feedback sessions, periodical group reviews of the videos produced by them, and a written exam paired with a field assignment in couples in July. The trainees have been given also a handbook with training material developed by the trainers themselves.

KNN trainees and two trainers with the handbook

KNN trainees during a review session

KNN trainees during their theoretical exam

On the other hand, feedback from the trainees have been collected, both in individual and in group sessions, in order to evaluate the trainers, the training approach and methodology.

“I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short-term weapon.”
Tom Stoppard

As part of the internship we are having at Map Kibera Trust under the YouthMappers programme, one of the activities that we were involved in was the Security Mapping project in the months of June and July.  The project was aimed at highlighting the areas of concern within the region owing to the fact that it was an electioneering period in the country, and there was a need to update the security map since the last time it was updated and used was during the 2013 elections. Some of the features that we were going to map were safe and unsafe areas, street lights, health centers and police posts within the area.

Prior to the mapping exercise, we had a training session at our offices under the leadership of Zacharia Muindi, our Mapping coordinator and team leader. In the training we were trained on how to use the GPS in collecting data and other tools like the questionnaire and camera. We grouped in twos, with local volunteers who had adequate knowledge of Kibera. The training went on well and we had a few practicals before heading to the field, this was to ensure that the tools were working and everyone was on the same page.

The mapping experience was interesting and challenging at the same time. The interesting bit of it included working with the locals and getting to know the vast expanse of Kibera, which was actually intriguing. We also noticed that some areas were unique and different in terms of development; areas like Nyayo Highrise and Fort Jesus had modern housing and well planned infrastructure. On the same note we also realized other areas that were still lagging behind in terms of development like Mashimoni and Lindi Ward. However, the mapping exercise was also challenging-moving around the area was physically demanding. Despite of the challenges we all managed to capture all the points (data) that we intended to collect.

From there we computed the data we collected using OSM editing tool Java script OpenStreetMap (JOSM) and uploading the data into OSM. What followed was designing of the Security Map and printing them out for distribution. The distribution exercise went on well and the maps were well received by most of our recipients such the D.C, AP inspector general, local NGOs that are working around peace initiatives in Kibera and the local community members. Through the interactions with the map and explanations from the team they were able to interpret the data very well and they acknowledged that the map is going of great help to the work that they are involved with.

This is a guest blog post by Peter Agenga and Phylister Mutinda, interns with Map Kibera from the Youth Mappers chapter of the University of Nairobi.