Being a Google Local Guide to me has meant having visual memories of amazing sights and connecting people. About 3 years back, excited to ensure that as many people as possible got to know where to access quality affordable medicines within my community, being a Google Local Guide seemed to become the solution. As a new employee at Guardian Health Limited, Kampala, Uganda, Google helped me realize this. I remember taking the photos of both the interior and exterior of the pharmacy I worked at, to help whoever wanted to locate it with ease. Indeed, to date, I am excited to see that there have been over 2,940 views of that photo I took.
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Caption 1: The exterior and interior of the Pharmacy I used to work at (Local Guide Aboda Noah) |
I would get Google alerts of how many people had seen my photo and this inspired me to even do more. This meant connecting people to what is helpful or meaningful in their lives.
As a frequent traveler around the country, I have had the wonderful opportunity to get to new places. On almost all my trips, Google Maps has been my companion; as a lens through which I got to appreciate what impressions others have had of the places I was yet to visit. In the same spirit, being part of the Google Local Guides Programme, I have been encouraged to do the same by leaving reviews of places I have been to so as to help others to know about such places prior to their arrival.
The most thrilling part is when I come across those sights that I think are very amazing. I find it very fulfilling to share this sightseeing experience with the world. By sharing about such places, I hope to be able to shout out to the world, “Behold, look at this amazing place! Come see it for yourself.” 2 particular places that sort of exemplify this are the Red Rock Centre, Gallup, New Mexico and The Recreation Project, Gulu, Uganda. I couldn’t help but capture what I thought was a unique architectural design of the Red Rock Centre.
Caption: A Photo of the Red Rock Centre Building I took when I visited the place in 2018 and has so far been seen 2,984 times (Local Guide Aboda Noah)
I thought it was amazing given that I had never seen such anywhere in my travels. And sharing the photo as a Google Local Guide was the icing on the cake. I was enthused by the fact that it has been the most viewed photo among the many that I had shared at 2,984 views pretty much like the feeling of excitement I had while capturing the moment.
Another such place is the Recreation Project, a very unique place in Northern Uganda that made my trip the kind that went from amazing to incredibly worth every moment. The only way I could forever remember this place was to share my experience about it on Google Maps and remain hopeful that as many people as possible would get a chance to visit it and get immersed in the experiential learning that I partook from there. To be a Google Local Guide is to contribute meaningfully to people ‘s lives.