Categories
Mapping

Community Data for Improved Disaster Management and Urban Planning – Mwanza, Tanzania

Photo: Primoz Kovacic, Spatial Collective

Community generated data has proven to be the most reliable information that reflects the community’s situation and the challenges they face. Working with community members to collect data in their own neighborhood increases data reliability, validity and its ultimate use as the community believes in the data and has a sense of ownership.

Spatial Collective, Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, and OpenMap Development Tanzania spent the last five months expanding its community mapping initiatives to Mwanza City. Working with 79 students from the Institute of Rural Development Planning (IRDP) and St. Augustine University of Tanzania we were able to collect a series of disaster-related data touching on flood-prone areas, rockfall incidents, urban exposure, and drainage infrastructure. The work focused on two municipalities: Nyamagana and Ilemela. 

As we explained in one of our earlier posts  Mwanza City is rapidly urbanizing with a lot of its growth concentrated in unplanned areas with approximately 81 percent of households situated in hazard-prone areas. Community knowledge was key to understanding the extent of these problems. For this reason, the consortium trained the students and communities on how to use cheap and widely available tools, such as mobile phones, GPS units, and satellite imagery to collect data on urban risks stemming from flooding and rockfalls. 

Data Collected 

Using a mixed-method approach consisting of digitizing the satellite imagery, mobile and GPS field data collection, community consultations, and stakeholder meetings, we were able to collect:

  • More than 300,000 buildings using satellite imagery
  • More than 15,000 points on flood-prone areas using mobile phones
  • More than 800 point on rockfall-prone areas using mobile phones
  • More than  80,000 points on urban exposure using mobile phones, and
  • At the moment of this writing 1700 drain segments with 145.013km 

 of drainage lines and 4300 drainage related points of interest have been mapped using a combination of mobile phones and DIY RTK units. 

Areas at risk for rockfall

Insights from community members and leaders

Below are some of the quotes taken directly from community members and leaders who were directly involved in the process of data collection

“The data helps me as a community leader to represent the challenges with evidence to the higher authorities, I will especially like drainage data to be collected as it will show the real situation of the narrow drains in our subward.” Juma Kasudi, Mjumbe – Mwinuko subward

“The collected data will help in the warning system, enabling the communities to at least evacuate before flooding. We can also present the flooding issue to the district council as we have datasets that explain the whole situation. It’s now our duty as community leaders to educate our community that the data does not lead to house demolition or relocation but rather finding solutions”. Joseph Chui, Mjumbe – Kitangiri

“Kitangiri is one of the severely affected wards by floods and rockfalls. Schools are also affected, making me worried as a leader that one day students may get hurt or even die. I hope the data can reach the right actors and lead to the construction of permanent structures especially drainage systems”. Robert Charles, Chairman – Kitangiri A subward.

Outcomes of our engagement

  • Capacity building to 79 university students – final year students will use the same software in their research and dissertations as it has proved to be a more cost-effective way of gathering data
  • Requests from the university lecturers to teach more about open-source tools used in data collection
  • Raising awareness to community members and local leaders on the importance of data use in making decisions
Field data collection, Photo: Primoz Kovacic, Spatial Collective

Challenges during data collection

  • Nature of the terrain and accessibility; Mwanza is characterized by highly dissected steep slopes and rocky hills making it more difficult for mappers to collect data especially in the slums
  • Misinterpretation of the project; communities believed that the mapping will lead to the demolition of their houses and possible relocation. The mappers had to carefully and mindfully explain the goals of the project and that the project is not in any way connected to relocation 
  • Political issues; the general election posed some challenges to obtaining permissions on time

What is next?

After the mapping and curation of all datasets, we expect to hold a workshop with the potential data users to ensure they have the ability to access and use these data for informed decision making. The workshop will involve key stakeholders like community leaders, road agency authorities, regional disaster departments, etc.

Categories
Mapping

Spatial Collective, Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, and OpenMap Development Tanzania extend their engagement to Mwanza 

Community Mapping for Urban Risk in Mwanza, Tanzania

Photo: Primoz Kovacic

Mwanza is the second-largest city in Tanzania with a population of about 1.2 million. Located on the shores of Lake Victoria, it is characterized by highly dissected steep slopes, rock hills, narrow interfluves, and river valleys. 

Like other towns in Tanzania, Mwanza has undergone a massive spatial expansion in recent years.  According to Macrotrends, the population in Mwanza increased by 5.56 percent since 2019, with a lot of its growth concentrated in unplanned areas. Further, approximately 81 percent of households situated in hazard-prone areas fall in the low-income population bracket. These areas often lack access to adequate municipal services such as water, sanitation, solid waste, electricity, and drainage. These shortcomings, together with acute, periodic flooding, contribute to a deteriorating environment which often leads to an increase in health and safety risks.

Building on the previous projects of Ramani Huria and Zanzibar Mapping, Spatial Collective, Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, and OpenMap Development Tanzania recently extended their operations to Mwanza City. Under the banner of the Tanzania Urban Resilience Program  (TURP), the aim of Community Mapping of Urban Risks in Mwanza is to produce high-quality, ground truth spatial information and urban risks data for selected wards in Ilemela and Nyamagana municipalities. 

The consortium will achieve this by focusing on 4 core mapping campaigns:

  1. By utilizing the rectified aerial and satellite imagery, we will produce digitized foot/roof prints of buildings as well as road and street networks suitable for OpenStreetMap.
  2. Through drainage infrastructure and river mapping, we will produce datasets of critical drainage infrastructure including condition surveys of drains, culverts, and urban rivers. 
  3. Through the participatory mapping of unplanned communities, we will collect data on critical infrastructures, such as health facilities, access routes, government installations, safe spots, open spaces, businesses, schools, religious institutions, and any other relevant public amenity.
  4. Through household flood and rockfall historical incidents mapping, we will collect and analyze data on flood and rockfall histories. 
Flooding in Mwanza. Photo: Ester Daniel

All four mapping campaigns will be carried out in collaboration with the Institute of Rural Development Planning, St. Augustine University of Tanzania, and government officials in selected municipalities. Furthermore, the assignment will include training of government surveyors from the Ministry of Land’s lake zone office, Ilemela and Nyamangana municipal councils, Tanzania Rural, and Urban Road Authority (TARURA), and Lake Victoria Basin Water Board (LVBWB).

The project will both transfer knowledge on community mapping to stakeholders and provide authorities and communities with data to inform urban planning and hazard-preparedness in Mwanza city.

This blog is co-written by Spatial Collective and OpenMap Development Tanzania
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Uncategorized Training

Resilience Academy supports 200 University Students to Gain Geospatial Digital Skills

Since 2019, the Resilience Academy has been supporting students’ industrial training—an internship program that normally goes up to eight weeks. The aim is to support students participating in practical activities and increase their skills especially digital skills. Resilience Academy is a partnership between four academic institutions in Tanzania: Ardhi University (ARU), University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), and State University of Zanzibar (SUZA) with the University of Turku (UTU) from Finland.

The skills that students will acquire include mobile data collection using OpenData Kit (ODK)—an open-source software for collecting, managing, and using data in resource-constrained environments—, field and community mapping, map production using QGIS, data quality assurance, all while contributing to OpenStreetMap.

The series of industrial training over the years has been successful in creating an apprenticeship program for more than 800 students (as of 2019) before and after college graduation. Over the past years, we have had students who benefited from the Ramani Huria project, who are now flying across the world to teach and present about our work and how the use of open-source software has served as a tool to support them to develop their skills.

Training Session

The first week of the training basically focused on bringing students on board on what to expect from the 6 weeks placement and what is expected from them . Introducing OpenStreetMap, QGIS, ODK for data collection, and the importance and value of community engagement, in general, were the main topics featured in the first week. The  students got to learn:

  • Basics of ODK and how the application works in the field. They had an opportunity to collect some points around the university campus, just to make sure they got a hang of it. We then visualized the points collected on QGIS for them to see how the process works and how the data they will be collecting in the field will be visualized.
Sample data points collected by students visualized in QGIS
  • XLS Form and KoboToolbox server creation. It is very important for students to understand the infrastructure behind the surveys they will conduct in the field. Helping the students see how applications work in the backend to produce what they see in the frontend increases their passion and appreciation of what they are doing. Students created their own KoboToolbox accounts and learned how to create forms and deploy them on the server. This will equip them with the necessary skills that will help them beyond industrial training especially for those doing their dissertations and research; this can be the leap from field papers to digital data collection we have always been hoping for.
Student creating a KoboToolbox server account
  • Introduction to drone imagery for mapping and how important it is to have these images while mapping for floods. This was demonstrated to the students visually with a drone video prepared by one of our supervisors to inspire students who want to gain more skills in drones.
  • The importance of community engagement while mapping and how to conduct/collect household surveys.

What we expect from students

At the end of this training, we expect students to have a better understanding of the strength of maps acting as a tool for urban resilience and how the data collected can be analyzed, visualized, and used for decision-making in the long run. Students will work on the following: 

  • Flood extent mapping: Conducting household surveys on the extent of flooding in different predetermined areas by interviewing community members living in these areas with questions like the depth of flooding and how often the flood occurs. This data will help in the development of a flood model. Since flooding is a very sensitive issue especially to communities that are being affected, the communities may be reluctant to cooperate with beliefs that their houses may be demolished. In order to overcome this hurdle, we train students to clearly explain the goal of the project and that it does not aim to relocate them, but rather provide relevant data to decision-makers which will result in infrastructure development in their communities.
  • Ground control points for UAV surveys: As an extension of the Ramani Huria 2.0, an additional targeted 100 GCPs will be collected by students from these universities in three rivers; Msimbazi, Mlalakuwa, and Mbezi rivers which will be processed for rectifying drone imageries.
  • Building footprints digitization: Most buildings within the city have already been digitized using a high-resolution raster background, however, this is from 2016 imagery. Students will use Maxar imagery (with 50cm accuracy) to re-digitize Dar es Salaam to provide building exposure data. The focus of the updated digitization will be on peri-urban areas where a high rate of change versus the situation in 2016 is expected. Inner city and other already densely populated areas will only receive cursory checking and validation, and will not be updated at the individual building level.
  • Tree mapping: This will involve measuring the height of the tree diameter at breast height (DBH), identifying tree species which can also be identified using tree leaves, bark, roots – A botanist will help to identify the species in SUA. At Dar es Salaam, students will be mapping trees along the River Ng’ombe that is being upgraded to get a baseline tree database.
  • Data quality and validation: After data collection, few students will be trained on data quality assurance. They will conduct quality checks to make sure that data is of the desired standard.
A student learning how to use ODK for Data Collection

Insights from Students

Students are generally motivated and eager to learn more in the coming weeks. According to the students, they didn’t know that their mobile phones could be used for anything other than just normal communication. They shared their minds with us:

“Our mobile phones are much more than just texting and calling, I didn’t know I can use my phone for mapping. I’m really looking forward to learning more, especially field mapping and GIS applications”. Zulfa Said, Student – UDSM

What I like more about this project is the involvement of community members, and this is what brings changes in our society “- Jackson Pilla, Student, SUA.

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Ramani za Tathmini ya uharibifu Uliotokana na Mafuriko, Tarehe 3 Machi 2019

As a means of emergency response after a flooding event or inland inundation, flood mapping helps to estimate the extent of the flood on a large scale. It is a basis of coordinating appropriate damage assessment activities, and providing relief to the victims. This blog explains an approach of community flood response by community mapping methods and rapid assessment to determine extent and damage.

Kama njia ya majibu ya dharura baada ya tukio la mafuriko, ramani ya mafuriko husaidia kukadiria kiwango cha mafuriko kwa kiasi kikubwa. Ni msingi wa kuratibu, kutathmini uharibifu, na kutoa msaada kwa waathirika. Blogu hii inaelezea njia ya majibu ya mafuriko kwa kutumia mbinu ya ramani za kijamii kufanya tathmini ya haraka ili kujua kiwango na uharibifu.

In responding to heavy rainfall on March, 3rd, 2019, that resulted in heavy flooding in some wards of Dar es Salaam Tanzania, the Ramani Huria team decided to conduct field mapping to engage affected communities with the aim of conducting a rapid assessment and producing impact maps. In these wards, community leaders identified a total of 1907 flooded houses. The survey was conducted in three of the  most affected wards as reported by local newspaper (Mwananchi). It appears that the impact was severe on these wards due to multiple river channels meeting at these places causing massive outflows to the residential areas as well as inadequate drainage and blockage due to improper dumping.

Ramani Huria visited the affected wards and worked closely with community leaders to conduct rapid  survey and assessment of impacts by:

  • Conducting meetings with community leaders and identifying the affected areas on printed A1 maps of the specific places
  • Field visits to physically assess the situation, taking photos and geo-points in some of the affected areas using OpenDataKit Collect, a mobile application that is used for field survey.

The maps used to conduct this assessment are the risk identification maps that were produced by RH team during the 2018 July summer industrial training. As we reported earlier, the maps were produced for the aim of developing ward disaster management plans with the overarching goal of creating a resilient city.

A map showing flooded areas in Tandale Ward, Mkunduge subward was all flooded

More maps created can be found here 

The impact of the foods included loss of properties, destruction of houses, students missing schools for two days because the roads were flooded, and their school books/items were destroyed by the heavy flood. Although there were no casualties, the impact affected communities significantly. Other people evacuated to nearby places that were safe at the moment, but in all these wards there were no specified evacuation centers where citizens can run to when it floods. This calls for government, disaster responders, humanitarian organizations, NGO’s and the community in general to “think” and plan how they can make sure there are safe places to stay when it floods.

Among flooded houses in Hananasif ward, Dar es salaam. The marks in the walls can explain the severity of flood

The objective of this practice was to identify the extent of flooding in the most affected wards as well as the affected infrastructure such as roads and settlements and impaired areas of interest, for example schools and hospitals. The Ramani Huria team will be actively disseminating this report within the affected communities, and working to facilitate dialogue with PO-RALG, the Red Cross, NGOs, World Bank, and other stakeholders to make use of the information for future mitigation efforts, rescue and relief activities in affected areas.

In recent years experts in disaster responses are hopeful for the future of satellite and mapping technology in responding to disaster. If a flood response map is well developed, what you really have here is a map of the future. It can help in predicting the impact of future flood events and help in mitigation measures too.

Simply by recording data from presently flooded areas can be useful when identifying areas at risk of future flooding. With climate change well underway, people are increasingly interested in predicting the ways that flooding will worsen.

Digital data such flood data needs to be (easily) accessible and downloadable data for disaster responders to act quickly and save lives. Thanks to local people, local devices (mobile phones) and open knowledge (free software like OpenDataKit and the skills to use it), they say information should become even more accessible in the years to come. Flood data also needs to be in online interactive maps that can be integrated with mobile applications for easy access. The Ramani Huria team will be willing to provide such data so as to help more people and develop effective flood mitigation measures.

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Uncategorized

Utengenezaji wa ramani za mipaka ya shina

Baada ya mchakato wa kutambua maeneo yaliyo kwenye hatari kwenye mitaa 228 ya jiji la Dar es Salaam, Mradi wa Ramani Huria unaenda mbali zaidi na kutengeneza ramani za maeneo ya chini kabisa ya utawala yaliyopo Tanzania (shina). tunafanya hivi kwa kushirikiana na mradi wa Data Zetu  kusaidia katika kufanya maamuzi. Kujua anwani za watu wanapoishi ni ngumu sana kwenye mji ambao haujapangwa. Hivyo kutengeneza ramani hizi kutasaidia kutatua matatizo mengi ya ramani kwa mara ya kwanza. Suala hili ni la muhimu sana na litatumika katika maamuzi kuanzia watu binafsi hadi ngazi ya serikali.

Dar es salaam imegawanyika katika manispaa tano, kata 92 na takribani mitaa 452. Ndani ya mtaa kuna mgawanyiko mwingine unaoitwa shina. Mashina pia hufahamika kama nyumba kumi, kwa kuwa mwanzoni mashina yalikuwa na nyumba kumii tu. Lakini kwa sasa kutokana na ongezeko la watu mijini mashina haya yana nyumba kuanzia 30 hadi 200. Kila shina huongozwa na mjumbe au balozi kwa vijijini.

Shina mwanzoni yalikuwa kisiasa,kulingana na mwongozo wa chama fulani. Hata hivyo wajumbe kwa sasawana kazi nyingi tofauti na za chama, kwanza ndio watu wa kwanza wanaounganisha wananchi na serikali. Japo suala la kisiasa katika shina halijapotea, ila tunaona wanaendelea kukubalika na wanajamii ana viongozi wa vyama vyote na matumizi ya mipaka hii ya shina kutengenezewa ramani na kufahamika kwa kila mmja.

Ramani Huria na Data zetu inalenga kutengeneza ramani hizi kwenye mitaa 84 ya Dar es salaam.  Tangu tarehe 13 septemba hadi sasa data za mashina 106 zimekusanywa na kuchakatwa kwa ajili ya utengenezaji wa ramani.

Msimamizi wa utengenezaji wa ramani akitoa mafunzo kwa wanafunzi wa vyuo vikuu jinsi ya kukusanya mipaka na kuonyesha ramani ya mashina iliyokwisha japishwa; Picha- Ramani Huria.

Mbinu za utengenezaji wa Ramani hizi.

  • Mwanafunzi atahitaji simu ya mkononi (Android) iliyowekwa programu ya ODK yenye marekebisho ambayo ina uwezo wa kuchukua taarifa za mistari kwa urahisi
  • Mjumbe, ambaye ni kiongozi wa shina atafanya kazi na mwanafunzi (aliyepata mafunzo) ili kupata mipaka ya shina- wakati huohuo mwanafunzi huyo atamueleza mjumbe juu ya matuizi mbalimbali ya ramani itakayo tengenezwa ili kuongeza ari ya usiriki. Mwanafunzi na mjumbe watazunguka katika mpaka wa shina na kujaza taarifa zote zinazotakiwa kama namba ya shina, jina la mjumbe nk.
  • Baada ya hatua hii, mjumbe pamoja na mwanafunzi watatumia picha ya anga iliyochapishwa ili kuhakikisha taarifa ya mipaka waliyokusanya kama ipo sahihi.
  • Mwanafunzi atatuma fomu/dodoso kwenye seva kwa ajili ya michakato mingine.
  • Taarifa hizo zitapakuliwa (download) kutoka kwenye seva ambazo zitafanyiwa kazi kwa kutumia programu ya QGIS, na kuchambuliwa ili kutengeneza ramani hizo za shina

Mwanafunzi akiwa na kiongozi wa shina wakihakiki mipaka iliyochukuliwa kwa kulinganisha picha ya anga na mppaka uliochorwa kwenye

programu ya ODK; Picha Ramani Huria.

Ufahamu Wa Jamii.

Wanajamii walikuwa na mawazo tofauti tofauti kuhusu mchakato huu na wana matarajio makubwa kuwa data hizi zitatumika kwa ajili ya jamii husika, na hili ndilo lengo. Mwenywkiti wa mtaa wa Liwiti alikuwa na haya ya kusema:

“Ramani za mashina zitasaidia kutatua matatizo mbalimbali kwa kuwa watu watafahamu vizuri mipaka yao. Nina furaha kubwa kufanya kazi na shirika hili na ni matumaini yangu wawakilishi wangu amewapa ushirikiano mkubwa, na wamefurahi kufanya kazi nanyie” Abdallah M. Simbili, mwenyekiti wa mtaa- Liwiti

Mjumbe wa mtaa wa msimbazi- Kata ya Tabata akimuonyesha mwanafunzi mpaka wa shina lake wakati wa ukusanyaji taarifa. Picha: Ramani Huria.

Matumizi ya Ramani Hizi.

  • Itawasaidia watendaji wa mitaa kuelewa vizuri maeneo wanayo ongoza.
  • Kipindi cha dharura (kama moto au mafuriko), ramani hizi zinaweza kutuikaa kutoa misaada ya haraka kwa kuwa eneo halisi la tukio linafahamika.
  • Kwenye hospital, kujua watu wanapotoka kwa kujua namba za mashina katika programu ya usajili kuweza kujua ueneaji wa magonjwa kama kipindupindu na utapiamlo kwa watoto.
  • Kusaidia jamii kujua wawakilishi wao katika jamii kwa kuwa migogoro mingi hutatuliwa na viongozi hawa.

Kufahamu maeneo ya watoto wenye utapia mlo na kusaidia kwenye harakati

Utapiamlo bado ni mojawapo ya changamoto kubwa za maendeleo ya binadamu Tanzania. Licha ya kuonekana/kusadikika viwango vya “chini” na vya “kukubalika” vya utapiamlo mkubwa, mzigo wa watoto wasio na chakula ni mkubwa Afrika Mashariki. Inakadiriwa watoto 450,000 nchini Tanzania wamepungukiwa na hawana nguvu, wakati zaidi ya watoto 100,000 huteseka kutokana na aina kali zaidi ya utapiamlo mkubwa.

Pamoja na mzigo mkubwa wa lishe Afrika Mashariki na Kusini mwa Afrika, sio tu maisha ya mtu binafsi nchini Tanzania ambayo yanatishiwa, lakini pia maendeleo ya kiuchumi ya kizazi kijacho yanahusika. Watu – wote wazima na watoto – ambao wana uzoefu wenye uzoefu tofauti tofauti wa janga la utapiamlo wajitahidi kutumia fursa, kwa mfano, elimu na ajira ambayo itawawezesha kuboresha maisha yao. Kuelewa athari mbaya zinazohusiana upungufu wa chakula, hususani miongoni mwa watoto, ni muhimu sana na hatua zinazofaa zichukuliwe na watendaji ambao wana uwezo wa kufanya hivyo ili kupunguza madhara hayo.

Eneo la mfano; Hospitali ya Rufaa- Amana Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Kupitia mradi wa takwimu za Data Zetu, timu yetu imeweza kutumia data ya mipaka ya shina iliyokusanywa kwenye mitaa36 ili kuunga mkono Hospitali ya Amana – moja kato ya hospitali nne za rufaa Dar es Salaam zinazohudumia watu kati ya 800 na 1200 kila siku – katika kuboresha njia zao za kukusanya data ya eneo la mgonjwa na kuimarisha ufuatiliaji wa taarifa za mgonjwa anapotoka. Daktari mmoja wa watoto katika Hospitali ya Amana, Dk. Omari Mahiza, ana hamu kubwa ya kutekeleza mfumo ambao utamwezesha kurekodi na kufuatilia maeneo wanayotoka watoto wenye utapiamlo anaowatibu. Kwa kujua zaidi ambapo wagonjwa wake wanatoka, anaweza kuchunguza kwa nini na sababu za utapiamlo wa watoto kutoka kwenye jamii moja hadi nyingine na, kwa upande mwingine, kujua kwa undani sababu zinazosababisha hali hii kutoka kaya moja hadi nyingine.

Kwa miezi michache iliyopita, timu ya Data Zetu imekuwa ikifanya kazi na kampuni ya IT ambayo imejenga mfumo wa kurekodi wagonjwa kwa njia ya kielektroniki katika Hospitali ya Amana ili kuingiza data ya shina na alama muhimu zinazotambulisha eneo (landmarks) kwenye mfumo huo. Sehemu mpya itakayoongezwa katika programu hiyo ya usajili wa kielektriniki utawawezesha wafanyakazi kurekodi data sahihi ya eneo la wagonjwa ambao wamefika hospitalini na kumsaidia Dk. Mahiza na wenzake kuwa na uwezo wa kubainisha anwani ya wagonjwa wao kwa urahisi. Ikiwa lengo ni kuchunguza matukio maalum ya utapiamlo na tabia zinazosababisha hali hii au kupata chanzo cha kuzuka kwa magonjwa ya msimu, kama vile kipindupindu, ramani za shina zitawezesha hili lifanyike kwa ufanisi zaidi katika jamii husika.

Hatua inayofuata kwa Hospitali ya Amana ni kutoa mafunzo na kujenga uwezo kwa wafanyakazi wa ndani, kama wahudumu wa usajili na wauguzi, kuhusu umuhimu na thamani ya kurekodi data ya eneo  anapotoka mgonjwa wakati wa usajili. Ili kuhakikisha kuna uelewa wa kweli na maslahi kwa wafanyakazi wa kurekodi data ya eneo wanapotoka kwa ufanisi zaidi, timu yetu itazingatia kuwezesha majadiliano na kuonyesha matumizi ya ramani kwa kuonyesha mifano dhahiri ya jinsi gani taarifa hizi zinaweza kuimarisha huduma za afya kwa jamii.

Zaidi ya mipango ya afya, ramani pia zinaweza kutumika katika usimamizi wa maafa, kuwezesha mipango ya haraka ya kukabiliana na maafa na kuongeza ustawi katika kupambana na mafuriko kwa jamii. Kwa mfano, kuwa na mipaka ya utawala katika ngazi ya chini zaidi inaweza kuongeza usahihi katika kutambua maeneo yaliyoathirika na kuharakisha usambazaji wa misaada wakati na baada mafuriko. Vivyo hivyo kuwa na ramani za mipaka ya shina inaweza kuwa na manufaa kwa watendaji wa mitaa wakati wa kuongoza na kutekeleza maboresho ya miundombinu.

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Ramani za mitaa mia mbili ya Dar es salaam kutengenezwa na wanafunzi wa vyuo vikuu ndani ya wiki sita zijazo

Mnamo tarehe 23 mwezi Julai 2018 shirika la Humanitarian Openstreetmap Team (HOT) ilianza upanuzi wa mradi wa Ramani Huria unaofadhiliwa na benki ya dunia, Kufanya mafunzo kwa wanafuzi zaidi ya 400 ambao watatengeneza ramani za maeneo yenye hatari ya kukumbwa na mafuriko.

Mwaka huu Ramani Huria inafanya kazi na wanafunzi kutoka Chuo kikuu cha Dar es salaam na Chuo kikuu cha Ardhi, na inalenga kufanya kazi na vyuo vingine miaka ijayo kama Chuo cha kilimo Sokoine kilichopo Morogoro na Chuo kikuu cha Jimbo la Zanzibar. Wanafunzi wanao shiriki katika mafunzo haya wanatoka katika taaluma tofafuti tofauti kama vile Mipango miji, Geomatics, Maendeleo ya jamii, sayansi ya mazingira na taaluma ya Jograrafia na mazingira.

Kuongezeka kwa maafa yatokanayo na mabadiliko ya tabia nchi, kasi ya ukuaji wa miji na ongezeko kubwa la watu, vyote vinachangia ongezeko kubwa la mafuriko Dar es salaam, hali ambayo inaonekana kuenea kutokana na ongezeko kubwa la watu kutoka milioni tano waliopo sasa hadi mara mbili yake katika kipindi cha miaka kumi ijayo. Ongezeko hili kubwa la watu imesababisha zaidi ya asilimia 70 ya makazi yasio rasmi na yasiyopangwa na wengi wao wakiwa ni wakazi wa kipato cha chini wanaoishi kwenye maeneo ya hatarishi kukumbwa na mafuriko kama vile maeneo ya mito Kibangu, Msimbazi na mto Ng’ombe.

Hasa kwa watu walio na mazingira magumu, kama wale wanaoishi kwenye mabonde ya mafuriko, uhitaji wa kuwekwa kwenye ramani ni muhimu. Ramani za watu walio kwenye maeneo magumu ni muhimu kwa kuwa inaonyesha uwepo wao, haki zao na mahitaji yao. Kwa kuwapa mafunzo wanafunzi kutengeneza ramani hizi, tunawapa nguvu kama wafanya maamuzi, wapanga miji na wahandisi kwa nyenzo mpya na ujuzi kuhakikisha kuwa wakazi wote wamehesabiwa (wamewekwa kwenye ramani).

Kuwa kwenye ramani ni kutambulika, ni kufahamika, ni kujulikana, ni kuhesabiwa. Ni dunia kujua kuwa una mahitaji, kwamba una thamani, kwamba una haki” Ivan Gayton

Picha: Wanafunzi wakipata utangulizi juu ya mradi wa ramani Huria, Julai 2018. Picha na Ramani Huria.

Msimu huu Ramani Huria itatengeneza ramani za kata 44 takribani mitaa 200 inayoathiriwa na mafuriko katika jiji la Dar es Salaam. Kukamilisha hili zaidi ya wanafunzi 400 watapatiwa mafunzo juu ya zana rahisi za kutengeneza ramani. Zoezi hili litafanywa kwa kuandaa mikutano na wanajamii katika mitaa yao na kuwapa fursa ya kueleza maeneo ambayo ni muhimu kwao na yale ambayo yapo katika hatari ya kukumbwa na mafuriko pamoja na visababishi vya mafuriko kwenye miitaa yao. Ripoti kuhusu majaribio ya mikutano hii inapatilkana hapa

Mafunzo yalianzia Chuo kikuu cha Dar es salaam, Kitenngo cha teknolojia ya habari na mawasiliano (COICT) Kijitonyama. Mwanzoni tulitegemea kupata wanafunzi 350, lakini karibu wanafunzi 600 walijiunga na mafunzo, ilikuwa changamoto kidogo kukidhi idadi hii kubwa ya wanafunzi walioongezeka, hasa kwenye timu ya uongozi, lakini ilifurahisha kuona kunzi kubwa la watu wakiwa na nia ya kujiunga na mradi huu.

Utangulizi wa mradi

Wanafunzi walipata utangulizi wa mradi kutoka kwa mshauri wa uhusiano wa kijamiii wa benki ya dunia Nyambiri Kimacha, ambaye alieleza umuhimu wa mradi ka jamii ambayo inaathiriwa na mafuriko moja kwa moja na wanafunzi ambao wanajifunza teknolojia mpya na nyenzo rahisi za utengenezaji wa ramani, Pia alionyesha shukrani za dhat kwa wanafunzi ambao wamejiunga na mafuzo.

Inafurahisha kuona wanafunzi wote hawa (600) kuaj pamoja kwa ajili ya kutengeneza ramani kwa ajili ya ustahimilifu wa mafuriko jijini” Nyambiri Kimacha, Mshauri wa masuala ya jamii- Benki ya Dunia.

Meneja wa shirika la HOT Tanzania aliwaeleza wanafunzi juu ya vitu mbalimbali ambavyo Ramani Huria inafanya pamoja na utengenezaji wa Drone (ndege isiyokuwa na rubani kwa ajili ya kupiiga picha za anga), Ramani za mitaro, Kupima mwinuko kutoka usawa wa bahari na masuala mengine ya kuwafikia wanajamii. Aliwasihi wanafunzi kufanya kazi kwa pamoja katika kuusaidia jamii inayokumbwa na mafuriko na kuwahamasisha kujifunza ili kukua kiutashi na kitaaluma.

Picha: Mwanafunzi akiomba maelezo ya ziada wakati wa mafunzo Julai 2018. Picha na ramani Huria

“Ikiwa umeona watu wangapi wanaathiriwa na mafuriko utafanya ramani ya jumuiya kwa bure! Na kwa shauku. ” Ivan Gayton

Utangulizi wa Programu na nyenzo mbalimbali

Baada ya neno la ukaribisho kutoka HOT na benki ya dunia, wanafunzi walipata utangulizi wa njia mbalimbali tunazotumia katika utengenezaji wa ramani za kijamii, Taarifa huru, na programu huru ambazo Ramani huria inatumia. Walijifunza umuhimu wa kutumia taarifa huru kwenye kupambana na maafa mbalimbali ya kibinaadamu na jinsi gani jumuiya ya kimataifa inayotumia taarifa huru inavyoongezeka. Mifano ya nyezo/ programu huru ambazo Ramani Huria inatumia kwenye ukusanyaji na uchambuzi wa taarifa ni pamoja na OpenDataKit (ODK), OpenMapKit (OMK), QGIS, and JOSM.

Picha: Mtaalamu wa programu ya GIS Iddy Chazua akieleza mfumo wa taarifa za kijografia kwenye mafunzo, Julai 2018. Picha na Ramani Huria.

Wanafunzi walielekezwa kuhusu OpenstreetMap, Programu ya huru ambayo mtu yeyote anaweza kuingiza taarifa kwa ajili ya matumiza mbalimbali. OSM inaweka taarifa nyingi sana ambazo zinakusanywa na wazawa na wachoraji wa ramani kote duniani.

Taarifa ya OSM inatokana na jamii, Osm inamilikiwa na jamii, wewe ni moja ya wanajamii, jivunie kuwa sehemu ya jamii hii.” Iddy Chazua- Mtaalam wa GIS.

Tulipata tweets nyingi kutoka kwa wanafunzi ambao waliweka tag #communitymapping kuhusu mafunzo, hizi zilionyesha ni jinsi gani wanafunzi walifurahia kuwa sehemu ya jamii ya OSM.

Baadhi ya tweets kutoka kwa wanafunzi

Baada ya siku ya kwanza ya utangulizi, wanafunzi walihamia kwenye vyumba maalumu kwa ajili ya mafunzo vilivyopo chuuo kikuu cha Ardhi, moja ya wadau wakubwa sana kwenye nradi huuu wa Ramani Huria ambapo wanafunzi wengi wanaotengeneza ramani wanatoka hapo. Wanafunzi waligawanywa kwenye makundi ili kupata mafunzo zaidi. Sasa tuna makundi sita yenye takribani wanafunzi 100, kila kundi likiwa na wanafunzi kutoka taaluma, miaka na jinsia tofauti. Kila kundi liliongozwa na Msamamizi mkuu mmja na wasaidizi watatu

Mafunzo

Wiki ya kwanza ya mafunzo wanafunzi walipata mafunzo ya utangulizi ya programu mbalimbali ambazo tunatumia katika utengenezaji wa ramani.

Programu hizi ni pamoja na JOSM, OSM, na HOT Tasking Manager, OpenDataKit (ODK) & OpenMapKit (OMK).

Picha: Wanafunzi wakiwa pamoja kwenye kuangalia programu ya OpenDataKit (ODK) wakati wa mafunzo. Picha na Ramani Huria

Kutumia ODK na OMK ni njia rahisi ya kukusanya taarifa nyingi kwa kutumia simu ya mkononi na wanafunzi wengi wana simu hizo. Programu hizi (OMK &ODK) zitatumiwa na wanafunzi kukusanya taarifa kwenye mitaa. Wanafunzi mamejifunza kwa vitendo ukausanyaji wa taarifa hizi na wamefunzwa jinsi ya kutengeneza madodoso ili kuwapa uelewa wa jinsi maswali hayo yanavyotengenezwa.

Picha: Mafunzo kwa vitendo, Mwanafunzi akijifunza jinsiya kujaza dodoso kwenye programu ya ODK. Picha na Ramani Huria.

Katika kusherehekea siku ya usafi duniani ambayo itaadhimishwa kwa mara ya kwanza Tanzania tarehe 15 Septemba, Wanafunzi watakusanya taarifa za uchafu kwenye majalala (rasmi au yasiyo rasmi) kwa kutumia programu ya ODK. Ramani huria itakusanya taarifa hizi kwa kushirikiana na mradi wa Nipe Fagio ambayo ni washirika wakuu wa kampeini ya Let’s Do It Global Foundation, kwa kile kinachoitwa “jitihada kubwa zaidi za kiraia zilizo chanya katika historia ya dunia” zenye lengo la kukutanisha asilimia 5 ya watu duniani kwenye siku moja ya ufanyaji usafi, na kuweka mipango ya kufanya dunia kuendelea kuwa safi. Hii itakuwa ni uzoefu wa kwanza kabisa kwa wanafunzi wetu kabla hawajaanza zoezi la utengenezaji wa ramani kwenye kata 44 zinazokumbwa na mafuriko Dar es salaam.

Tutaendelea kuwapa taaarifa zaidi kwa yanayojiri kwa wanafunzi hawa wenye shauku ya utengenezaji wa ramani ili kufanya Dar es salaam kuwa stahimilifu kwenye masuala ya mafuriko.

Photo: Ramani Huria GIS Specialist Iddy Chazua gives a briefing about GIS data formatting at Industrial Training July 2018; Photo credit Ramani Huria

Students were introduced to the OpenStreetMap (OSM) platform, an online database that is a free, editable map being built by its users. OSM stores enormous amounts of data which is collected by local communities and remote mappers across the world .

“OSM data is from the (global OSM) community. OSM is owned by the community. You are the community, feel proud to be part of this community.” – Iddy Chazua, HOT Tanzania GIS Specialist

We had a lot of tweets coming out from students with the tag #communitymapping  about the training. The tweets demonstrated how excited the students were to be part of the OSM community.

Screenshot: some students’ tweets during the training

After the first day of orientation to the project, the students moved to the main training venue at Ardhi University, one of the key partners on the Ramani Huria project through which many student mappers have previously been recruited. The students were split into groups to receive more training. There are now six groups of about 100 students each with a diverse range of ages, genders and academic studies. Each group is led by one senior supervisor and three junior supervisors.

Trainings

During the first week of training there was an introduction training on different software and applications that we use in mapping.

The software included, JOSM, OSM, and HOT Tasking Manager, OpenDataKit (ODK) & OpenMapKit (OMK).

Photo: Students working  together to explore the OpenDataKit (ODK) android application during the training, Photo credit: Ramani Huria.

Using ODK and OMK is an easier way to collect enormous amounts of data since most students own android phones. These two applications (ODK & OMK) will be used by students to collect information in the field. Students have been learning practically how to collect field data using ODK and OMK, and have also been trained on how to create surveys on ODK to make them have a clear understanding on how the questions have been developed and deployed.

Photo: Field practice, students learning how to fill out an ODK survey. Photo Credit Ramani Huria

In celebration of World Clean Up Day which will be celebrated for the first time in Tanzania on the 15th of September 2018,  students will map trash in the city (mapping all formal and informal waste points in the city) using ODK. Ramani Huria will map trash in the city in collaboration with Nipe Fagio  the appointed lead partner in Tanzania by the Let’s Do It Global Foundation, for what has been called ‘the largest positive civic lead movement in world history’, with the aim to unite 5% of the global population in a one-day cleanup action, and making a plan to keep it clean. This will be the first real field experience for the students before commencing on mapping the 44 flood-prone wards of Dar es Salaam. 

We will keep you updated on the progress of this large group of motivated students and the progress they are making in mapping a more flood resilient future for Dar es Salaam.

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Ramani za Kijamiii ili kutengeneza kielelezo cha Mafuriko- Flood Modeling 2.0

Mradi wa Ramani Huria n moja kati ya miradi mikubwa ya kijamii inayotekelezwajijini Dar es Salaam. Matumizi makubwa ya taarifa za ramani  zinazokusanywa ni kuongeza ufahamu juu ya majanga ya mafuriko, mazingira ya kupata mafuriko na uwezekano, vipengele vyote vitatu vya mfumo wa hatari. Ramani ya aina hiii, vipimo na hali ya mtandao wa mifereji ya maji ni sehemu muhimu na ina uwezo wa kuanzisha mifano ya vielelezo vya mafuriko ya kina ambayo inaweza kutumika kuiga mfumo wa mafuriko katika uwezo usiokuwa wa kawaida. Mwanzoni tulieleza kuhusu hali ya ramani za mitaro kwenye mradi wa  Ramani Huria 1.0. Sasa ramani ya miraro inachorwa tena kutumia mbinu za kina na umakini kwenye uunganaji wa mifereji. Kata 20 za mwanzo zimeshakamilika na blogu hiii inaonyesha ni wapi tumefikia hadi sasa.

*Imeandikwa na: Hessel Winsemius, Hawa Adinani, Amelia Hunt, Ivan Gayton, Iddy Chazua, Amedeus Kimaro, Paul Uithol*

Mafuriko karibu na daraja la Jangwani Dar es Salaam tarehe 15 Aprili 2018

Timu ya Ramani Huria iliyobobea imekuwa ikikusanya taarifa za  ramani za mitaro, kuzisafisha na kuangalia ubora wa taarifa a sasantuna taarifa sahihi za mitaro katika kata zifuatazo; Mikocheni, Msasani, Kinondoni, Mwananyamala, Sinza, Kijitonyama, Hanansifu, Ndugumbi, Makumbusho, Mzimuni, Tandale, Manzese, Buguruni, Vingunguti, Magomeni, Kigogo, Mchikichini, Ilala, Mkurumula and Mburahati. Sasa tunaonyesha matokeo kwa kutumia ramani za muingiliano, na kurejea nyuma vipi tumefanya kazi hii. 

Mpangilio wa QGIS wa taariifa yote iliyokusanywa ya mifereji ya maji Juni 2018

Ni kiasi gani tupo sahihi kwenye ukusanyaji wa taarifa

Ramani ya mwingiliano inayoonyesha taarifa na usahihi wake

Kwenye ramani ya mwingiliano iliyo onyeshwa hapo juu, maendeleo ya kazi yanaweza kuonekana. Ramani inaonyesha taarifa zote za mistari zilizokusanywa hadi sasa ambazo kwa njia yoyote zinahusiana na mifereji. Kwa kila mfereji taarifa mbalimbali lazima ziikusanywe,  kufuata mfano wa taarifa iliyotengenezwa (pre-defined data model). Hii inaonyesha kuwa kwa kila mfereji wenye sura maalum taarifa sahihi zinakusanywa. Mfano wa data ya mifereji ya maji (drainage data model). uliwekwa kwa kuzingatia usahihi iwezekanavyo kwa njia hii.Tunasema zaidi juu ya hii hapa chini;

Mwonekano wa mwanzo wa ramani hii unaonyesha ubora wa sifa ya “aina ya mtaro” ambapo sifa hii ya aina ya mtaro lazima uonyeshwe kwenye fereji wowote. Rangi kwenye ramani inayo onyesha kijani inamaanisha taarifa zote zipo kamili, njano inaonyesha taarifa imekusanywa lakini haijafuata uutaratibu uliowekwa, orage ni ambapo taarifa zisizo  sahhihi zimekusanywa (mfano maneno badala ya namba) na nyekundu hakuna taarifa iliiyowekwa.

Kwa ufupi, tunaangalia ukusanyaji wa taarifa zenye ubora. Ili kuhakikisha kazi imekamilika tumetengeneza programu ya kuangalia ni vipi taarifa zinakusanywa kwenye ubora.  Utengenezaji wa programu hii ni wa huru kabisa na unaweza kupata maelezo yake hapa https://github.com/openearth/hydro-osm. Timu ya Ramani Huria kwa sasa inatumia programu hii kila siku ili uangalia ubora wa taarifa kwenye taarifa zinazokusanywa sasa. 

Je mistari myeusi inamaanisha nini?

Tangu mara yetu ya mwisho kuangalia taarifa, vitu vingi vimeongezwa kwenye ukaaguzi wetu wa taarifa wa kila siku. Sasa tunaweza kufanya kitu kinaitwa “conditional data models”. Kwamba baadhi ya vitu vinaweza kukusanywa kama kana vipengele vinavyohusika.  Kwa mfano kama aina ya mtaro ni kalavati, pia onyesha muundo wa kalavati ulivyo (kama ni boksi, pembe nne au duara). Na kama kuna mfereji wa duara (kama unavoonekana kwenye picha hapo chini), tena kupima kipenyo, na kama mtaro utakuuwa wa mraba tutapima upana  na urefu. Timu ya kutengeneza ramani hizi imeandaa data model, ya kina sana, kwa ajili ya mitaro  na vitu vingine jijini ambao unafata mfumo huu.

Mfano wa Kalavati, mfano dhahiri wa mtaro wa duara, ambao unahitaji kupima mwinuko kwenye mtaa/barabara jirani, kipenyo, malighafi zilizojengea na kama umeziba au laaa.

Dar es Salaam/Ramani Huria – OpenStreetMap Wiki

Data collected as part of Ramani Huria conforms to a model. The Data Model specifies what types of attributes are…wiki.openstreetmap.org

Umuhimu wa kukusanya taarifa sahihi na zinazohitajika ni kubwa sana. Vipimo ni muhimu kuelewa ni kiasi gani maji yanaweza kusafirishwa kutoka eneo moja hadi jingine. Hali ya matengenezo ni muhimu kuelewa ni kiasi gani kizuizi kinaweza kutarajiwa ndani ya mfereji wa maji na inaweza kuleta uwezekano wa kutumika kutengeneza kielelezo cha athari za hali ya mifereji ya maji iliyo duni ikilinganishwa na hali ya mifereji ya maji iliyo bora.

Ni kivipi tunakusanya vipengele hivi.

Kuwezesha timu inayofanya kazi kuweza kukusanya taarifa hizi, tunatumia programu ya  OpenDataKit (ODK). Hii inaweza kumuongoza kupitia maswali mbalimbali ka akili sana kutumia simu ya mkononi (Smartphone). ODK inaweza kufanya kazi bila mtandao na kuhifadhi taarifa kwa muda kwenye simu. Mtandao ukiwepo taarifa zote zilizokusanywa zinaweza kutumwa kwenye mtandao. ODK inaweza kuuliza maswali. Kwa mfano unachukua taarifa gani “unakusanya taariifa gani” ambapo unaweza ukajibu ni Jengo, mtaa, mtaro, na vingine. Baada ya hapo kama mkusanya taarifa atasema “mtaro” itauliza “ni mtaro wa aina gani” na kulingana na aina ya mtaro itakuuliza  maswali mengine kama muundo na mwelekeo. Kwa njia hii mfumo wa ukusanyaji taariifa unaweza kufuatwa kwa usahihi. Kwa maelezo zaidi kuhusu utengenezaji wa ramani za miitaro, tafadhali rejea blogu yetu hapa kuhusu utengenezaji wa zana za wazi za kukuusanya taarifa za mitaro.

Ukurasa wa dodoso la programu ya ODK

Ni kivipi taarifa za mitaro zimeungana

Ramani ya kwanza ya mwingiliano inaonyesha muundo maalum wa ukusanyajji wa taaarifa uulifuatwa. Hii ni moja ya kitu muhimu sana kwenye utengenezaji wa ramani za mifereji.  Kipengele kingine ni muunganiko wa mifereji. Mitaro ya mijini ambayo ipo sahihi, ungetegemea kuona mifereji yote imeungana na kutiririsha maji yake kwenye mito au baharini.  Kwenye blogu yetu ya kwanza kuhusu swala hili, tuliona kuwa mitaro mingi haiku ungana, lakini tuliona kuwa hiii inawezekana na ukuusanyaji wa taarifa au ndio hali halisi ya mitaro huko mitaani. Hivyo timu yetu ilihakiki kwa kina sehemu ambayo mtaro unaanza na unapoishia. Timu yetu ya kuangalia ubora wa taarifa inajaribu kuona kama mtaro umeungana angalau pointi moja ya mwanzoni na mwishoni wa mtaro. Pointi ya mwisho inaweza kuwa mtaro hauna mwekekeo, kuelekea kwenye mfereji mkubwa wa maji au maji kuelekea kwenye kata jirani kama bado haijatengenezewa ramani. Hpo chiniutaona matokeo ya taarifa zilizokusanya kwenye kata 20 hadi sasa. Karibu mitaro yote inaonekana ya kijani ikimaanisha kuwa taarifa nying za mitaro tayari zimeshakusanywa, (nyekundu inaonyesha hakuna muingiliano na inatakiwa kuangaliwa tena). Ramani pia inaonyesha mwanzo wa mtaro na mwisho kwa nukta za rangi. Nukta za zambarau zinaonyyesha mitaro ambayo inaiishia kokote. Tunaona kuwa maeneo kama haya ni hatarishi, hasa kama kuna mitaro mikubwa inayoelekea maeneo haya.

Hitimisho: RAmani Huria ipo nian kutengeneza ramani kamili na sahihi ya mitaro jijini Dar  es Salaam. Matarajio yetu ni kwamba tunaweza kuanza kujenga kielelezo sahihi na cha kina cha mifereji ya maji ili kuelewa mafuriko, athari zake, na hali ya miundombinu midogo, matengenezo, na taka hatari zinazoweza kusababisha mafuriko. Kipengele kilichokosekana ni . Hatua muhimu taarifa za mwinuuko kutoka usawa wa bahari. Hatua za kupima mwinuko zinaendelea ndani ya Ramani Huria. Tafadhali angalia blogu hii kwa habari zaidi.

Ramani ya muingiliano iinayoonyesha muunganiko wa mifereji mwanzo na mwisho wa mtaro

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Kutengeneza Ramani kwa Ebola Congo; Kuongeza taarifa zaidi za jiografia kusaidia wanaopambana na ugonjwa huu huko Congo


“ Watu hawa hawajawahi kuwekwa kwenye ramani, hakuna mtu aliwahi kuwajali hata kuonyesha nyumba zao zilipo, kwa hiyo nyumba hizi mnazochora leo, ni kwa mara ya kwanza mmmejali kwa kiasi cha kuwaweka hawa watu walio kwenye vijiji vya mbali vya Congo kwenye ramani, Kuwa kwenye ramani ni kutambulika, ni kufahamika, ni kujulikana, ni kuhesabiwa. Ni dunia kujua kuwa una mahitaji, kwamba una thamani, kwamba una haki, na mumefanya haya kwa watu zaidi ya 150000 leo” Ivan Gayton.

Tarehe 9 Juni Ramani Huria iliandaa Mapathon iliyokuwa na lengo la kuchora barabara na majengo kusaidia mashujaa wetu waliopo Congo kupambana na Ebola.

Ni vipi ramani zinaweza kutumika?

Mwaka 2014 ilipotoke mlipuko wa ugonjwa wa Ebola huko Afrika ya magharibi, ambapo watu takribani 12000 walipoteza maiisha, ramani za kidigitali zilionekana kuwa na umuhimu zaidi kusaidia mameneja wanaofanya shuhuli za dharura za kibinadamu

Wakati kuzingatia zana bora na ujuzi wa kukabiliana na mlipuko wa Ebola Afrika Magharibi, mwaka 2014, Madaktari Wasio na Mipaka / (Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)) walimtuma mtaalam wa masuala ya Kijiografia na ramani (GIS) Guinea kusaidia wauguzi na madaktari wa Guinea na wa kimataifa ambao walikuwa wanapambana na mlipuko wa Ebola. Lengo la kupelekwa hii ni kujua kama GIS inaweza kusaidia katika utatuzi wa tatizi hili. Kitengo cha GIS cha MSF kilimwomba mwezeshaji wa Ebola Timo Luege kuandika utafiti wa kesi unaonyesha faida za afisa wa GIS. Baadhi ya matokeo muhimu yalikuwa;

  • Licha ya kufanya kazi kwenye maeneo ambayo ni magumu kufikika, Mtaalamu huyu aliweza kupata mtandao wa intenet ambao ulimsaidia kuomnba msaada kwa watu walio mbali. Kati ya mambo mengine moja ilikuwa ni kuomba msaada wa watu wanaojitolea kutoka jamii ya OpenStreetMap (OSM) kuchangia chochote kwenya ramani. Hii inaonyesha jinsi makundi ya watu yanaweza kuchangia masuala ya dharura ya kibinadamu kama vile magonjwa ya milipuko.
  •  Afisa huyu wa GIS, pamoja na wafanyakazi wa eneo hilo, waliweza kutoa mchanganuo kutoka kwenye ramani ambazo zilitengenezwa na watu wa mbali. Taarifa zote zilikuwa muhimu (zilizotengenezwa na watu wa pale na wa mbali) bila msaada wa mbaliwa kupata ramani ya marejeo wataalamu hawa wasingeweza kupata ramani ya marejeo ili kuweza kuingiza taarifa walizopata za GIS (mfano maeneo ambayo huduma za afya zilipo) zinazohitajika katika kupambana na Ebola kikamilifu.

Watengeneza ramani wakichora majengo na barabara za huko DRC kwa kutumia- HOT Tasking Manager

Utafiti huu wa kihistoria uliisukuma timu ya Ramani Huria kusaidia mlipuko wa sasa wa Ebola Huko Jamuhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo. Timu ilaamua kufanya Mapathon kutengeneza  ramani za vijiji ambavyo vinaathiriwa na Ebola kwa kuchora majengo na barabara ambapo baadae itasaidia katika kupata ramani ya marajeo kwa wataalamu wa GIS ambao ni nyenzo kubwa katikamashirika ya kibinadamu na ya maendeleo yanayofanya kazi katika maeneo hayo.

Meneja wa HOT Tanzania , Ivan Gayton, alieleza uzoefu wake wa mlipuko wa Ebola huko Sierra Leone ambapo alishuhudia ugonjwa huu hatari huko Africa ya mgharibi akiwa afisa wa MSF (Madakjtari wasio na mipaka). Alieleza washiriki jinsi gani madaktari na maafisa wa afya wanavyofanya kazi na jinsi gani ramani zinaweza kuwasaidia katika kupambana na ebola na hata magonjwa mengine ya milipuko.

Ukuaji wa biashara kwenye vijiji vya Africa, Kasi ya kuenea kwa magonjwa kama Ebola unaweza kuenea kwa kasi kubwa sana. Watu wanaopambana na ebola wanatakiwa kuwatafuta watu walioambukizwa na kuwapa chanjo na kuwatenga na wengine ili ugonjwa usisambae. Kama hakuna ramani, wafanyakazi wa afya watapata shida ya kuwatafuta watu ambao wanaweza kuwa kwenye hatari ya kupata Ebola. Kusaidia katika kutengeneza ramani za mbali inaeza kuwasaidia watu wanaopambana na Ebola kwa kuwatafuta watu wanaoweza kuwa na maambukizi kwenye vijiji vyao na kuweza kuzuia kuenea kwa ugonjwa huu.

Jumla ya watengeneza ramani 75 na washiriki 94 walifika kwenye mapathon na ndani ya masaa mawili jumla ya nyumba 37,583 ziliwekwa kwenye ramani. Hii n sawa na kueka watu takribani 187,915 kwenye ramani, na kurahisisha katika kutoa misaada ya kibinadamu na kuokoa maisha.

Picha ya pamoja kwenye Mapathon

Tunatumaini taarifa zetu zitatumika katika kutatua tatizo hili na timu ya Ramani Huria ipo radhi kkutoa msaada zaidi wa ramani za mbali kama zitahitajika.

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Kutumia Vifaa Nafuu Kupima Mwinuko

Ramani Huria na Benki ya Dunia inajaribu kutafuta njia nzuri ya kupima mwinuko katika jiji la Dar es Salaam ili kuiunganisha na kielelezo cha mafuriko (flood model) ambacho kinaandaliwa. Kupima mwinuko kunahita mfululizo wa vipimo vigumu.

Mwishoni mwa mwezi wa nne 2018. Wanafunzi watatu wa uhandisi kutoka chuo kikuu cha teknolojia cha Delft  Uholanzi- Huckleberry, Detmar and Martijn- waliwasili Dar es salaam ili kutengeneza vifaa nafuu/rahisi za kupima mwinuko. Watachukua takribani miezi miwili kufanya kazi na timu ya Ramani Huria. Wanaamini Ramani Huria ni timu yenye vijana wanaojituma na wanaweza kufanya Ramani za kijamii kuwa halisi na kuhamasisha utumiaji wa taarifa huru, na wanaelewa umuhimu na ugumu uliopo katika kupasa ramani sahihi hasa katika jiji linalokua kwa kasi kama Dar es salaam.

Lengo la wanafunzi hawa ni kutengeneza madhubuti kifaa kinachopima mwinuko kwa kutumia joto na mgandamizo wa barometa. Wanafanya hivyo kwa kutumia Arduino iliyounganishwa na kifaa cha Bosch BMP280 inside a watertight box. Lengo ni kuondoa usumbufu wowote kwenye sensor na na kupata mwinuko sahihi unaoweza kutumika na kuingizwa kwenye OpenSteetMap.

Hii ni mara yao ya kwanza wanafanya kazi na BMP sensors hivyo ni uzoefu wao wa mara ya kwanza kwa wao kujaribu hizi sensor na kuona jinsi gani hizi sensor zinaweza kukabiliana na hali ya mazingira ya mjini. Kama wakifanikiwa kwenye hili itawezekana kutengeneza kielelezo cha mwinuko kwenye mji mkubwa kama Dar es salaam.

Lengo kuu la Ramani Huria ni kuweza kutengeneza mbinu ya kupima mwinuko wa jiji la Dar es salaam kwa kutumia njia rahisi na pia uwezekano wa kutumia njia hii kwenye majiji mengine ya Africa kama watahitaji.

Tarehe 24 May, majibu ya majaribio ya Arduino yalionyeshwa kwenye wiki ya ubunifu iliyo andaliwa na mfuko wa maendeleo ya kibinadamu. (Humanitarian Development Innovation Fund)

Maonyesho kwenye warsha

Kutokana na majaribio yaiyofanywa hadi sasa sababu nyingi za mazingira kama jua upepo na mvua vimeonekana ni vitu vinavoweza kuangaliwa kwa ukaribu.Hitilafu kamili ya kila sensor sasa inajulikana na inaweza kuangaliwa kwa pointi moja, ambayo lazima itokee kila wakati kipimo kinapochukuliwa. Timu ilielezea kuwa kosa tegemezi linahitaji muda mwingi zaidi kuelewa na kutatuliwa, lakini sasa wanagundua mbinu zaidi ambazo zinafanya kazi na zinaweza kutumika ili kupunguza hitilafu hii. Katika wiki zijazo timu ya Ramani Huria, ikiongozwa na wanafunzi kutoka chuo cha teknologjia Delft, itaanza majaribio kwa kutumia programu ya simu ya Android inayoweza kusoma Arduino na sensor. Programu tayari imejumuisha kifaa cha IIR (infinite impulse response) – (majibu yasiyo ya msukumo usio na kipimo) ambayo inachuja vipimo ili kufanya taarifa iweze kufanya kazi zaidi. Kazi inayofuata itakuwa server inayokusanya taarifa zote za simu hizi kwenyesehemu moja ili ziweze kutumiwa kwa urahisi na zinaweza kuonekana wakati wowotekipimo kilipochukuliwa. Washiriki katika warsha walivutiwa na uwezekano wa vifaa vya bei nafuu, vilivyotengenezwa ndani ya nchi kuongeza viwango vya kutosha katika kuchangia kwenye kupata taarifa bora ya mafuriko na hatua za kuyapunguza.

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Wiki ya Ubunifu 2018: Mahali BUNI Hub COSTECH

Tarehe 24 May 2018 Ramani Huria ilishiriki kwenye wiki ya ubunifu iliyoandaliwa na Mfuko wa Ubunifu wa maendeleo ya kibinadamu (Human Development Innivation Fund-HDIF) yaliyofanyika kwenye jengo la tumeya sayansi na Teknologia. Lengola sisi kushiriki ilikuwa ni kuonyesha namna gani ubunifu umesaidia mradi wa RAmani Huria Kufanya shughuli za utengenezaji ramani kwa usahihi na kwa kutumia gharama ndogo. Kauli mbiu ya Ramani Huria ni  “local people, local tools, open knowledge” (“wazawa, zana za wazawa na na ujuzi huru”), hii inalenga kwenye kuwapa nguvu wazawa kwa kutumia ubunifu na taarifa zinazohitajika katika kubadili jamii zao kuwa bora zaidi.

Kazi za ubunifu kwenye maonyesho zilikuwa Mbinu za kutengeneza ramani za kijamii na ugunduzi wa ramani za mashina-wajmbe wa nyumba kumi, Utengenezaji wa drone (ndege isiyokuwa na rubani), Utengenezaji wa ramani za mitaro kwa kutumia programu ya ODK, na Kupima mwinuko kwa kutumia Arduino na Barometer.

Ramani za Kijamii

Tangu kuanzishawa kwake mwaka 2015 Ramani Huria imekuwa ikifanya kazi na viongozi wa kata na mitaa kwa kushirikiana na wanafunzi wa vyuo vikuu kukusanya taarifa kwanye maeneo yao, lakini tuligundua kuwa wanajamii hawakuwa huru kujibu maswali ya watu wasiowafahamu pale maswali nyeti yalioulizwa. Awamu hii ya pili ya mradi wa Ramani Huria unafanya kazi na viongozi wa ngazi ya chhini kabisa wajulikanao kama wajumbe- ngazi ya chini kabisa ya uongozi Tanzania. Viongozi hawa wana jukumu la kuongoza sehemu ndogo sana ya jamii na wananjamii wanawafahamu vizuri. RH 2.0 ilianza kwa kuwapa mafunzo wajumbe na wanajamii kutumia simu zao wenyewe na kidigitali kukusanya taarifa kwanye maeneo yao wenyewe.

Mbinu hii iliwezesha ukusanyaji wa taarifa nyiingi sana  ndani ya muda mfupi kulinganisha na njia ya awali ya RH 1.0. Njia hii tunaita “Ubunifu” kwa sababu ni kwa mara ya kwanza ramani ya jiji imetengenezwa kwa taarifa nyingi za kiwango hichi na wanajamii kwa kutumia vifaa/simu zao wenyewe. Kwenye maonyesho wakati tulivyogawanyika kwenye vikundi washiriki walishangaa kuona ramani ya mafuriko iliyotengenezwa kwa kutumia taarifa ambazo zimekusanywa na wanajamii wenyewe – taarifa hizi mara nyingi ni za kuaminika kwa kuwa wanajamii wanayafahamu maeneo yao zaidi ya mtu yeyote.

Picha; Msimamizi wa Ramani za jamii Asha Mustapher,akiiongoza mazungumzo wakati wa maonyesho ya ramani zilizotengenezwa  kwa taarifa zilizokusanywa na wananchi

Matumizi ya OpenDataKit kusanya taariaa za mitaro/ Mifereji

Awali Programu ya ODK ilitengenezwa kukusanya taarifa za zilizo kwenye muundo wa pointi, Ramani Huria ilamua kutumia ODK kusaidia kukusanya taarifa za mitaro kwa kufamya maboresho kidogo kwenye programu hiyo ili iweze kukusanya taarifa zilizo kwenye muundo wa mistari. ODK ni programu maarufu sana kwenye ukusanyaji wa taarifa hasa katima mashirika ya kibinadamu lakini haijawahi kutumika kukusanya taarifa za mitaro na Ramani Huria imefanikisha hili. Soma blogu kuhusu Kujenga zana za wazi kwa ajili ya utengenezaji wa ramani za mitaro hapa

Picha; Timu ya Ramani Huria ikionyesha taarifa za mitaro zilizokusanywa kwa kutumia zana za kawaida. Ramani hizi za mifereji ya maji zitasaidia kupanga mipango ya kuzuia mafuriko.

Kutumia Arduinos na Barometers kupima Mwinuko.

Kupima mwinuko ni ngumu hivyo inahitaji  msingi mzuri wa vifaa ili kuhakikisha kuna usahihi mkubwa iwezekanavyo. Wanafunzi kutoka chuo kikuu cha technolojia cha Delft huko Uholanzi wanafanya kazi katika kujenga vifaa vya kupima mwinuko. Hadi sasa kuna hatua kubwa iliyofikiwa kulewa ni kwa kivipi tunaweza kupima mwinuko kwa usahihi ambao utaongeza usahihi wa kielelezo cha mafuriko cha sasa.

Sababu nyingi za mazingira kama jua upepo na mvua vimeonekana ni vitu vinavoweza kuangaliwa kwa ukaribu.Hitilafu kamili ya kila sensor sasa inajulikana na inaweza kuangaliwa kwa pointi moja, ambayo lazima itokee kila wakati kipimo kinapochukuliwa. Timu ilielezea kuwa kosa tegemezi linahitaji muda mwingi zaidi kuelewa na kutatuliwa, lakini sasa wanagundua mbinu zaidi ambazo zinafanya kazi na zinaweza kutumika ili kupunguza hitilafu hii. Katika wiki zijazo timu ya Ramani Huria, ikiongozwa na wanafunzi kutoka chuo cha teknologjia Delft, itaanza majaribio kwa kutumia programu ya simu ya Android inayoweza kusoma Arduino na sensor. Programu tayari imejumuisha kifaa cha IIR (infinite impulse response) – (majibu yasiyo ya msukumo usio na kipimo) ambayo inachuja vipimo ili kufanya taarifa iweze kufanya kazi zaidi. Kazi inayofuata itakuwa server inayokusanya taarifa zote za simu hizi kwenyesehemu moja ili ziweze kutumiwa kwa urahisi na zinaweza kuonekana wakati wowotekipimo kilipochukuliwa. Washiriki katika warsha walivutiwa na uwezekano wa vifaa vya bei nafuu, vilivyotengenezwa ndani ya nchi kuongeza viwango vya kutosha katika kuchangia kwenye kupata taarifa bora ya mafuriko na hatua za kuyapunguza.

Picha; Wanafunzi kutoka chuo cha Delft Uholanzi na timu ya Ramani Huria wakieleza jinsi Arduino na Barometer zinavyoweza kupima shinikizo la hewa  ili kukokotoa mwinuko

Utengenezaji wa Drone

Ramani Huria imetengeneza drone ya ndani ya nchi na wafanyakazi wetu wa Tanzania kwa lengo la kupiga picha za anga zenye muoonekano mzuri na ubora wa hali ya juu. Picha hii ya anga itakuwa na manufaa katika kutengeneza ramani zitakazotumiwa kupanga mpango wa kupunguza mafuriko.Ubunifu huu utakuwa muhimu kusaidia kuchenga mtazamo wa maendeleo kwa kutumia mbinu ya picha za anga.

Picha; Majadiliano kwenye Warsha na Afisa bunifu wa timu ya HOT Tanzania Bornlove O. Ntikha, akielezea jinsi ya kutengeneza drone na matumizi yake kwenye masuala ya mafuriko

Kubadili mtazamo kupitia ubunifu

Lengo kuu la Ramani Huria kwenye maoonyesho haya ilikuwa kuonyesha umma vafaa vya kawaida (local devices) na mbinu za ubunifu, Njia za kibunifu zinazotumiwa na wazawa kwa kutumia ujuzi wa wazawa vina uwezo wa kuongeza ushiriki wa raia katika kuleta matokeo chanya kwenye jamiii zao, kama Ramani Huria ilivyoweza kukusanya taarifa sahihi za mafuriko kusaidia wananchi. Tunatoa wito kwa wadau mbalimbali wa maendeleo kuona fursa inayotokana na taarifa za kijamii zinazokusanywa kwa kutumia njia kama hizi ili waweze kupunguza gharama za uendeshaji wa miradi na kuongeza tija kwa kukusanya taarifa za mwanzo kutoka kwa wanajamii wenyewe.