Vision & Mission Statement

Background to Vision and Mission

Since 2002 Global MapAid has acquired a powerful and useful history of humanitarian mapping that is mentioned in this history outline. This process has been a steep learning curve, with many lessons learned and some very successful mapping achieved that has undoubtedly saved or enhanced lives.

At the start of 2011 the Board of GMA decided to bring together all this learning and create a focus on a particular type of poverty mapping that would also illustrate unemployment poverty and solutions to it - primarily sustainable job creation and microcredit. We call this concept ‘the Poverty Solution Map’.

The indicators for unemployment poverty will be drawn primarily from the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. In 2000, 189 nations made a promise to free people from extreme poverty and multiple deprivations. This pledge became the eight Millennium Development Goals to be achieved by 2015. In September 2010, the world recommitted itself to accelerate progress towards these goals.

As a result of the Board’s decision, reshaped Vision and Mission statements were created:-

Vision Statement

To set up many locally based teams in poverty zones, at least one per developing country, to create poverty solution maps as a tools for governments and donors and NGOs - to launch sustainable jobs and assist in the elimination of poverty.

Mission Statement

Mapping populations to identify poverty so as to provide a tool to help governments and development organisations to target and plan efficient intervention strategies to lift people out of poverty.

Global MapAid History Outline 2002 to 2011

• USA. July 2002 to August 2003. Fellowship. Reuters Digital Vision Programme at Stanford University funded Rupert Douglas-Bate to do a Fellowship on humanitarian mapping technology. It won a cash prize from the Business Association of Stanford Engineering Students.
• South Africa. August 2003. Assessment Mission. GMA visited with the long-term intention to work there.
• USA. October 2004. Registration USA. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati (Google’s law firm) gave 18 months of pro-bono support to have GMA registered as a ‘501(c)3’ read ‘US charity.’ After registration several thousand dollars were raised for the training and initial deployment in Pakistan, Indonesia and New Orleans. Vodafone US Foundation and Omidyar (eBay) Foundation.
• USA. 2005. Donation. Software mapping company called ESRI gave Global MapAid several thousand dollars of software.
• Indonesia. March 2005. Training Mission Short Term. Equipping, training the University of Syiah Kuala, Bande Aceh with mobile data collection devices, post tsunami Dec 2004.
• Pakistan. February 2006. Assessment Mission & Mapping. Making maps for PODA, an indigenous not-for-profit, to guide donors and other visitors to their projects (after the earthquake in October 2005). Secured a reliable church based Field Partner, GVM with whom we have co-written a proposal for an Overseas GMA Team.
• USA, New Orleans, September 2005. Emergency Mapping. Rapid deployment to New Orleans after Katrina on 29th August, to collect data and make 50,000 maps showing victims where to get aid. Also made food distribution maps for the American Red Cross vehicles.
• UK. 2006 to 2008. Humanitarian Map Icons. Created a brand new set of humanitarian map icons.
• Brazil. 2008. On-line Mapping Tool. GMA and volunteers from University of Forteleza, creation of an on-line mapping collaboration tool: WikiMapAid.org ‘the Wikipedia of humanitarian mapping’ for mainstream non-technical users.
• Dubai. November 2008. Attempted Mapping Mission. Field visit to Dubai, to open dialogue with Dubai government about a local GMA team.
• Nepal. November 2008. Mapping Mission. Collaboration with National Society for Earthquake Technology.
• USA. May 2006 to 2008. Negotiations with Americorps*VISTA. Attempt to build a ‘Geographic Emergency Response Vehicle’ to make maps of poverty. Project mothballed, due to recession hitting corporate donors.
• U.K. January 2008. Donation for core travel funding, from a British millionaire, Mike Edge, from the Bath leadership group ‘Footdown.’
• South Africa. June 2008. Mapping Mission. Mapping assessment mission to South Africa. Planning for a branch project. Executed a street children’s mapping project in Port Elizabeth.
• Zimbabwe. August 2009. Assessment Mission. Field visit to initiate Schools & Hospital mapping. Partnerships made with MDC Ministers for Health & Education. See April 2010.
• South Africa. December 2009. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Winner and great champion of Humanitarian causes, becomes Patron of GMA
• USA. February 2010. Donation. Donation by Bentley Systems Inc for future Haiti mission.
• Zimbabwe. August 2009 to April 2010. Mapping Mission. 5,000 schools in Zimbabwe digitally mapped, by volunteer efforts.
• Afghanistan. May 2010. Mapping Assessment Mission. Field visit to Kabul to evaluate the domain of sustainable job creation job survey and mapping.
• Haiti. June 2010. Emergency Mapping Mission. Primary objective to research locations and boundaries of vocational and trade training programs and schools.
• Egypt. April to May 2011. Mapping Assessment Mission. Primary objective to set up local team to create maps of poverty and solutions to poverty.

 A summary brochure can be viewed and downloaded.