What does the Local Guides Program mean to me?
ٍSpreading love in a time of misery. This is what it means to me, being a 32-year-old man living in Iraq, an unlucky country, one of the most unsettled lands, and the center of multiple recent conflicts, unrest and crises, but there’s a glimpse of hope, I am happy that normal life is slowly picking up; the economy is recovering, many are starting to discover google maps as a source of information about newly opened places, hotels, restaurants, malls, parks…
A few years back, I got to know about Google Maps; it fascinated me in how it helps people struck an interesting place, how convenient when travelling.
When targeting a place, I used to read reviews to make sure everything is good before jumping in. But I found that a lot of interesting places have little or no information, this kicked a strange desire in me to fill the gaps, so I started to review them in a clear and honest way, writing the missing informations, adding photos and answering questions, users my posts valuable, and sometimes business owners praised it. giving me satisfaction and delight.
One more interesting thing to mention is that a lot of places are in Arabic names, most of them were anglicized wrongly by fellow local guides, I started fixing them. This is vital in helping foreign tourists get to their destination.
There is something so fun about sharing beautiful experiences with the world. It was so appealing to help guide my fellow citizens to a good place that might put a smile on their face in a time of sorrow amid the sad circumstances.
To me, the local guides community is like a big family supporting each other’s. bringing people together, make their lives joyful, spreading the love and happiness.
