The UN Mapper of the month - September 2023
Meet our September 2023 Mapper of the month: Eduard Reñe Cherto! Currently living in Kenya, Eduard brings a dynamic blend of skills as a Building Engineer with a heart for volunteer humanitarian mapping. Notably, he shone as one of the most engaged participants in our global English training. Let's dive into his inspiring journey!
Tell us a bit about yourself.
Hi! My name is Eduard and I am a Building Engineer. I worked as Construction Manager and Quantity Surveyor in Barcelona (Spain) and Nairobi (Kenya). Currently unemployed because of a long parenting break that I took.
In January this year I started mapping for humanitarian purposes.
I am the husband of an amazing woman and father of two incredible and plenty-of-stamina kids.
How did you know about UN Mappers?
I discovered UN Mappers through the HOT OpenStreetMap Tasking Manager while contributing to some of the projects organized by your organization. Later, I decided to look for more information on LinkedIn, where I found information about the OSM and humanitarian mapping course.
You participated in our global training in English. How did it seem to you? Which topic did you find the most interesting?
The OpenStreetMap and humanitarian mapping course training was great. I enjoyed every part of it. During the course I expanded my knowledge not only about the available tools but about an unknown world for me.
For example, during the course I learned how to use JOSM. I knew it was there, but I never had the opportunity to start using it properly.
Among all the topics, I found the offline mapping using smartphones/tablets very interesting and useful, as with this approach the data can be uploaded at a later time.
Regarding the mapping itself, I found the waterways fascinating, as many of them are created by nature and topography is directly related. The fact that it is possible to map, for example, intermittent streams, and have them recorded in OSM data to prevent future catastrophes related to floods… for me is fascinating, and honestly, I would like to learn more about this topic.
When do you map? (Weekends, free time, in your working time?)
I do remote mapping when I have free time, mostly during the evenings. If I am having lunch alone then I also contribute using this time.
Do you enjoy mapping? Why?
Honestly, I don’t know exactly why I enjoy mapping. I suppose, the fact that this mapping, this data that I am uploading to an open access database, later can be used for a good reason like anticipating and be prepared for a future disaster, helping after a disaster has happened, protecting girls from FGM, helping communities plan their development and progress towards the SDGs, among others…
I would say that this motivation to do good things for others is what I enjoy the most and I would love to be more involved in some projects to feel closer to the excitement of doing good.
In which countries do you map the most?
I mostly map in Kenya, the country where I live, and in Tanzania, volunteering for Tanzania Development Trust and Crowd2Map Tanzania.
