Latest Contributions by WilliamTarpai

Wow, Really appreciate this post as I work with Kenyan NGO colleagues, advocating to improve rural community development efforts.  Having just completed a one month Geo Apps MOOC, in advance of the arrival of a shipping container filled with  20,000+ Books for Africa books and equipment, we are preparing our mapping efforts.   Our maps and apps will be focused to work on Bomet County, Kenya,   Developing a GIS tutorial to help our local NGO staff as we work with teachers and community leaders to improve educational opportunities for students growing up in rural areas is on top of my agenda.  Working collaboratively with members in this community is something I hope can flower over the coming months. A word of warning though:  allow me to urge readers to open this link Why is the US in opposition to the United Nations and the Sustainable Development Goals challenge   This work is all about speeding up the pace for achieving successful SDG outcomes in rural Kenya during the rest of this decade. I am seeking experienced ARCGIS online collaborators, who may also have experience using Geo Apps.   If you would like clarification or more info for getting involved, post a comment below.  Finally, the timeline for submitting the final draft of our GIS tutorial for Bomet County is 1 June, 2025.   ... View more

Learning how to navigate within this community takes lots of time and patience, but it is really a neat platform. ... View more

Happy I put in the work to get an ESRI Certificate for the Geo Apps 1 month MOOC, and have now started CREATING AN ARCGIS STORY MAP - (only 2 hours 35 minutes).  My Kenyan colleagues, especially students at Kenyatta University with mapping skills, will begin collaborating with Safina to develop apps that can be field tested as the books are being distributed in rural Kenya.   Anyone interested in getting involved, post a reply with an email address and I'll continue you. ... View more

Thanks for refreshing my memory on excel, and helping me to learn about ARCGIS.online.... ... View more

Thanks @DavidMurray_ODWC   I'm mid-way through the ESRI Geo Apps MOOC, as containers filled with 166,000+ books are making their way by sea to Mombasa for distribution in rural Kenya.   very helpful response you posted that I'll share with the NGO team members, some with mapping experience, but most convinced of the need to develop mapping and spatial analysis skill sets while they work on rural development   https://safinaempowerment.org  ... View more

Thanks @TonyContreras_Frisco_TX    great response - very helpful to me today as I begin to work as a mentor to a Kenyan NGO involved in rural development https://safinaempowerment.org  ... View more

Hello Katie_Decker,   Are you still monitoring this page?   I'm currently taking the ESRI Geo Apps MOOC helping out a Kenyan NGO that will soon receive a 40 foot container filled with books for rural libraries and schools.  best wishes.  William.  (p.s.  I live about 16 miles from ESRI HQ in Redlands.... any chance of meeting there?) ... View more

I am currently mentoring, the team leader of a Kenyan NGO ( https://safinaempowerment.org ) that will soon be receiving containers of books (sent by Minnesota (Minneapolis) based NGO - Books for Africa - https://www.booksforafrica.org/ )  At the moment, I am mid-way through the one month ESRI Geo Apps MOOC, and looking for experienced mappers interested in gaining real-time experiences working with people in rural areas, who don't always have good access to electricity, internet or other things most of us take as given.    I'm urging consortium members (whether mentors or mentees) who have some experience with creating and successfully operating geo apps to consider giving us a hand.... ... View more

@EvanGPetrie Coming into this conversation a bit late, and I hope you have decided to make life-long learning important to you.  But from my perspective, a Master's degree really can open doors, even in the GIS field.   But I tend to agree with @RyanUthoff in the number of ways.   Having a professional career, as a US government and then United Nations professional officer, was really exciting for me.  Without an MA, it would NOT have been possible.   I lived and worked in more than a dozen countries for more than a year, so spent lots of time enjoying new cultures and learning languages.  If you are a stay-near-home kind of guy, perhaps a MA/MS may not be needed. But some of the most exciting and high paying jobs are be taken by those who want to travel and see the world, especially if they have GIS education.  Today, you can fill your resume with lots of real-time mapping and spatial analysis experiences related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/profiles.  I have posted a link to the 2024 SD Report and rankings, but the 2025 report will be coming out soon.   Ponder working in some of these places, especially with GIS skills and real-time experiences.... ... View more

I saw a post this morning by James Akello  2:55 AM from Kenya Hello William,  I wanted to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude for sharing the incredible news regarding the shipment of five containers of books for Africa headed to Mombasa on behalf of Safina Development Organisation. Your dedication to this initiative, along with the efforts of Safina Empowerment Organisation, is truly inspiring and demonstrates your profound commitment to improving education in rural Kenya. Your work at the UN and your involvement in driving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) forward is commendable. The impact of providing access to quality education cannot be overstated, and your efforts exemplify the crucial role that knowledge sharing plays in achieving these global ambitions. I also admire your connection with the behavioral science initiatives within the UN Innovation Network. Understanding how individuals make decisions and engage with programs is essential for enhancing strategies for collaboration and development. Your insights in this area will surely contribute to more effective approaches in our collective pursuit of sustainable solutions. Thank you once again for keeping us informed and for your unwavering commitment to facilitating positive change. Your leadership inspires many, and we look forward to seeing how these books will transform lives in Kenya.  Warm regards   ... View more

Hello,  I'm enrolled AND even more important today, have completed and submitted both my 2024 US and California tax submissions, so will be able to devote more time to this course.   I am pleased that at least 2 Kenyan colleagues will be joining me.  We all support SAFINA EMPOWERMENT ( https://safinaempowerment.org/ ) and are very interested in helping contribute to rural development efforts in Kenya.     One of our first joint projects will be to map and analyze distribution of 20,000+ books being sent by Books for Africa ( https://www.booksforafrica.org/index.html ) We are still not sure which of the 4 apps will be most useful in our first collaborative efforts, but are pretty certain we will be using all 4 for our efforts to improve rural development SDG successes over time. ... View more

Thanks @HannahOlpinski   Indeed Kate and Brittany provided very helpful training that I'm hoping will result in speeding up the pace for achieving successful SDG outcomes in rural Kenya.  Collaborating with the Safina Empowerment team ( https://safinaempowerment.org ) as they begin their skill set trainings has been a wonderful experience.  The seminar was great!   and now the hard work begins....  ... View more

@natalie Jung. A belated thank you for this article which I am reviewing as I prepare to work on a mapping project to promote rural community development.   I was wondering what improvements in mapping software and tools in the interim since you published this report have come onto the market that you would recommend? Now a decade into the future, working to provide national, regional and local leaders and planners with visual maps and data displays that aid decision making on funding aimed at improving lives in rural communities.   ... View more

Greetings Jesse,  I posted my first project proposal on the AFrica Geoportal this week, that I want to use in parallel with a one month ESRI MOOC - Make an Impact with Modern Geo Apps  collaborating with a Kenyan NGO - Safina Empowerment to map rural development progress against the 17 SDGs.    Suggestions and collaborators to document our efforts in ways that  might creatively caught the attention of policy- and decision-makers hoping to speed up the pace achieving successful SDG outcomes in this decade.   That is what I was asking for: best wishes.  William     ... View more

Hello,  I'm writing today, hoping to become a Geo Mentor in the future.   Last weekend at California State University San Bernardino during the Alumni support CHOOSE CSUSB event, it was exciting to see more than a thousand incoming (but still high school) students accompanied by family members exploring the San Bernardino campus.   CSUSB had invited 650 students to explore the campus with their families.  It was an exciting time. Of the students and family members I was able to meet, many of the high school seniors knew what the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) challenge was (a 15 year global effort 2015-2030) global leaders that agreed on to make progress against 17 goals (each with targets and indicators to measure progress).  Several came from schools that had received ESRI school bundles, and they were hoping to continue learning, especially hoping to find entryways for involvement in the SDG challenge. This weekend, I will participate in the same CHOOSE CSUSB event, but at its Palm Desert campus.  Same event as last week, but now onto a campus 90 minute drive down I-10 that residents of the Coachella Valley and points south in the state of California were excited because of the opportunities for higher education it created for students who might have otherwise been able to complete their university educations.  Today as I was exploring the ESRI Africa Portal https://www.africageoportal.com.   I know I wanted to become a SDG mapping and spatial analysis mentor, so I came onto Communities and sought this group out.    I hope I have come to the right place. ... View more