Latest Contributions by WilliamTarpai

@SamuelDadson Excellent post!!!! GREAT ADVICE for students!!!! Disaster Risk Reduction efforts are really important and DO CONTRIBUTE to public safety and emergency response capabilities. You might wish to introduce your skill sets to Red Cross clubs on campus.....

Wow,, wish I would have had water modeling info when I briefed the (then) president of Somalia during his surprise visit to the BurDhubo refugee camps (1983). He was interested in how to build a bridge across the river....

@ArushiKapoor Thanks for posting and all your good work preparing and publishing; it is truly helpful for others as we work on improving water quality and improve the communities where we live.... @EzraCheruiyot is a Kenyan currently putting together ways to introduce students and their teachers in rural Kenya to GIS to address research on important questions facing local communities. He usually teaches Mapping skills on youtube and Tiktok accounts. We are reaching out on this platform hoping to find ways of getting Kenyan students collaborating with their peers, especially in neighboring states. Being introduced to your work will certainly help efforts looking ahead. Thanks again. (look us up on https://safinaempowerment.org/. or on Linkedin search - SAFINA DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION )

EZRA, Can you draft a map for us to begin our collaborations of Bomet County, pin pointing where the schools that have already received books and computer equipment (thanks for Books for Africa and Safina) are located? We need to be making lists in each school identifying teachers and students from each school interested in this project, and creating opportunities to introduce both teachers and students to why we are advocating for introducing learning mapping and spatial analysis skill sets. Let's make this an agenda item for our next SAFINA Zoom call....

User Conference Questions

Good morning everyone, With the 2026 ESRI User Conference almost upon us, and discussions taking place how to make this year's events better, I want to propose some entryways for involvement by skilled mappers, even a few with a couple years of experience behind them, and certainly for those just honing their mapping and spatial analysis skill sets who are seeking real-time experiences in this decade helping with sustainable development (while using support tools available to mappers. It is very clear to me as a retired United Nations professional officer, understanding that WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER, and that Ted Turner's loss is a disappointment to me, that more student voices are needed, and how better outreach to involve more people. WHY? The ESRI CEO says, “The modern map has become an operating system for decisions.” @EzraCheruiyot I would like to connect to a voice in Kenya to ask you if it is possible to know how many young Kenyans, Tanzanian, Ethiopians, Ugandans, and Somalis might benefit from being able to attend some or al of the ESRI USER CONFERENCE 2026 sessions this year? Perhaps we should create a map of this region and add some added to it.....

Both EZRA and I enjoy being part of this ESRI community - WHY? for the most part, we believe in the work we are doing and know it must be speeded up. Can our work be sped up by a collaboration with ESRI in general and ESRI East Africa speicifcally? We think so, and can keep up this conversation and want to support teachers in schools that are best able to bring more student voices to the table, and removes the barriers we are facing, and continues to build infrastrructure needed in rural development.....

Published since I posted on 4-4-26, the CASE STUDY GUIDE FOR EDUCATORS 2026. SDSN and Global Schools provide lots of good things happening in countries around the world to motivate young people to help imagine a better world. https://files.unsdsn.org/Global%20Schools%20Case%20Study%20Guide%20Volume%203_2026_Final.pdf Experienced mappers who would like to help GIS learners acquire and hone their mapping skill set may wish to contact and offer your services to promote the work of these educators....

GIS Leadership User Group

Since I first responded above, the SDSN/Global Schools CASE.STUDY GUIDE FOR EDUCATORS 2026 has been published. - The case studies help describe teachers around the globe who are 'practicing education for sustainable development'. Allow me to urge experienced mappers, and members of this community to download and ponder.... https://files.unsdsn.org/Global%20Schools%20Case%20Study%20Guide%20Volume%203_2026_Final.pdf. A young African recently posted "... The 17 SDGs are a shared blueprint for building a world where people and the planet can thrive. They address issues such as: • Poverty and hunger • Education and health • Gender equality and inclusion • Clean energy and climate action • Peace, justice, and partnerships" Speeding up successful development outcomes is all about getting more people, especially students involved....

Oops I neglected to add a link to the CASE STUDY GUIIDE FOR EDUCATORS. 2026. Anyone in this ESRI community who may wish to contact any of the educators featured in this guide offering to help them build and publish maps, please be my guest - https://files.unsdsn.org/Global%20Schools%20Case%20Study%20Guide%20Volume%203_2026_Final.pdf

Thanks @JesseCloutier The question by @BriannaEttley is really one which could be asked and answered quite differently depending on how much time one may have spent outside of advanced economies, or whether you were brought up in places where development progress has NOT occurred so rapidly. @EzraCheruiyot might have answered different than I, as he is from Kenya, and working to help young people be introduced and hone their GIS skill sets. Young people who may still live in areas where indoor plumbing doesn't exist, where electricity allowing them to study at night is not dpendable, where disaswter risk reduction messages aren't always helping them avoid climate risks from flooding or poor infrastrucuture. Hopefully he and I will be able to present Story Maps made by students describing surrounding around them as they gorw up....

GIS Leadership User Group

Wow, great post - The Leadership Summit is so critical to being able to give opportunities to those most in need. The World Bank Group President at the 2026 Summer Session said, "the right building blocks are important to be productive. Good primary and secondary education are important. ...talent is everywhere but opportunities are not"... What can our leadership be doing to get to a better place for all of us?

Having been living in Peshawar, Pakistan in the days leading up to 9/11/2001, as well as for almost 2 years afterwards, and having traveled in all 5 of the former Soviet Union states in Central Asia previously, being exposed to the importance of GIS while in Pakistan changed my life sustantially. The aha moments started coming fast and furiously as I was able to dig down into data by location: it really started me thinking how important the work of coding is. Now more than 2 decades later, changing times are requiring changing policies. I appreciate ESRI Communities commentaries. As we promote peaceful development, and advance sustainability, our work promotes human and civil rights, and the possibility for better lives for all who live in local communities.

Thanks @JordanDuft for posting. It has taken me several efforts to go through it all, but definitely about the need for timely discussions to be engaged on this platform. the importance of live training can NOT be overstated! I'm planning to spend lots of time fully understanding what you have posted as well as digging down into the numerous links.

‎04-12-2026

Thank you Ezra and Tonny, Your support for local development in Bomet County is noteworthy. I am hoping to gather mappers who are interested in Lorcal or international but sustainable development projects to help us set up a distinct ESRI COMMUNITY for Kenyan development. Keep up your good works.

‎04-10-2026

@Gisbert61 Thanks for posting to start this discussion. @EzraCheruiyot Ezra and I were also seeking both locals and internationals to help us introducing students in Bomet County (NE Kenya near Lake Victoria) get introduced and honing mapping skill sets. Bomet and Machakos Counties have recently received 4 shipping containers from Books for Africa, and people are beginning to read lots of new books. We are trying to help student prepare Story Maps about their experiences.

Online Status	Online
Date Last Visited	3 hours ago

My Ideas

Latest Contributions by WilliamTarpai

Re: From Ghana’s Survey Fields to Illinois School Safety: My GIS Journey

Re: Beyond Spreadsheets: How GIS Brings Water Quality Data to Life

Re: Beyond Spreadsheets: How GIS Brings Water Quality Data to Life

Re: GIS Life: Your Biggest Breakthrough

Opening UP ESRI USER CONFERNENCE to the World

Re: GIS Life: Your Biggest Breakthrough

Re: How to use the YPN Networking Space

Re: More Leaders, More Engagement: The 2026 Esri GIS Leadership Summit Is Coming

Re: GIS Life: Your Biggest Breakthrough

Re: GIS Life: Your Biggest Breakthrough

Re: More Leaders, More Engagement: The 2026 Esri GIS Leadership Summit Is Coming

Re: GIS Life: Your Biggest Breakthrough

Re: Live Training Seminar - Metadata Essentials for AI-Ready GIS

Re: Looking for a GIS person in Kenya

Re: Looking for a GIS person in Kenya

Re: Beyond Spreadsheets: How GIS Brings Water Qual...

Re: Beyond Spreadsheets: How GIS Brings Water Qual...

Re: GIS Life: Your Biggest Breakthrough

Re: GIS Life: Your Biggest Breakthrough

Re: GIS Life: Your Biggest Breakthrough

GIS Leadership User Group

Experience Builder Tips and Tricks

ArcGIS Indoors for Higher-Ed User Group

LocalMaps NZ

Esri Forestry Group (EFG)