I have been a local guide since 2016. It was when I was a student of Music at Makerere University Kampala that I had a chance to travel to Zimbabwe for a music festival. That was when I got stranded in Harare without the clear address to the places I wanted to visit before I went back to the guest house. The only friend I had left was google maps, and he helped me indeed. I took and posted my first pictures on google maps in Harare. It was pictures of the artwork around the guest house and my bedroom. In a few days, google sent me a congratulations message reminding me about how my pictures were hitting. Nothing was more encouraging for me to start writing reviews and posting more pictures on google maps when i returned to Uganda.
After my university, I became devoted to posting more photos, reviews and adding new places onto google maps. Then my badge morphed into level two, then three and now am at level 6. I am looking forward to even reach higher heights like level 10. The information I have continuously posted, places I have reviewed, and added to maps in Uganda, have helped people find places they can spend quality time with family and friends or even alone. This makes me feel good about my contributions, especially when my reviews are liked by someone else.
Google maps to me feels like part of my purpose in life. Me being born in Uganda and knowing the skills to use technology to help a developing country to be competent with the rest of the world in technology.