I originally got the idea for this post after reading Mapbox's blog post about providing imagery to help map parts of Mongolia (click here to read their post).
Living in America it is easy to pull up a map online that is update and accurate. Sometimes sites like Google maps aren't updated and that has allowed sites like OpenStreetMap to become a more update place to get a map. OpenStreetMap allows users to add information to maps. Maybe a new neighborhood has opened and their streets haven't been mapped, or maybe a street is closed. Open source mapping is a powerful tool.
People do a good job at updating areas that they live nearby or are familiar with, but many parts of the world aren't accuracy mapped even with OpenStreetMap. OpenStreetMap has created an organization called "Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team" (HOT). Please check out their website to learn more (http://hot.openstreetmap.org/). HOT was developed to aid in Humanitarian work by creating accurate and up to date maps of areas in need.
A recent project by HOT was updating maps of areas in Africa affected by Ebola. Before their involvement some areas only showed a few roads, when there are actually hundreds. The Red Cross has a nice article (found here) about HOTs mapping efforts. HOT also has plenty of information about this project on their website.
While some of HOT's work involves collecting data a lot of there work can actually be done from anywhere in the world. by providing volunteers with satellite imagery in OpenStreetMap, users can digitize rivers, roads or anything else they can see from the imagery. So if your interested in Humanitarian work or want to get involved with relief efforts during a natural disaster, but aren't able to take time off from work or travel to help, consider getting involved by digitizing imagery.
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