Map Kibera was born in the Kibera slum of Nairobi but is growing to connect marginalized communities across the whole of Kenya’s capital. They use OpenStreetMap, a free, editable program to map local amenities and resources, particularly services that address security, water sanitation, health and education. Their mappers are all young community members who use GPS devices to collect data, and computers to edit and upload the map information, ensuring that all the information is kept up-to-date.
Mapping may include surveys of the general features of a district – like pathways, clinics, water points and markets – or might get into a great deal of detail in one subject – say, health mapping of a given area. In that case, surveying can include not just pharmacy locations but also hours of operation, the kinds of services offered and other much-needed public information.