Local Guides is a program that is bringing many hopes and happiness to help millions besides making skilled myself. I can’t remember the exact date I started my Google Maps contribution. But one thing I can remember I started my contribution by adding new places on Maps. My place add request to the new Google Maps worked fine for me than the Map Maker tool. So I found my interest to contribute regularly to Google Maps. The time would be around May or June of 2016. It was 8 August of 2016 I joined the Local Guides Connect Community.
Since my joining, my interest was to learn more than helping others. First few months I used the Local Guides community to develop my skill of Google Maps knowledge from the Local Guides team and some big-hearted fellow Local Guides.
After a few months, I started sharing my gathered knowledge to the new Local Guides. Then I thought to spread my knowledge to my own homeland to make more maps contributors. I started my Unofficial Local Guides Community building.
I hosted my first Meet-Up with my friends and little brothers at my Village. It was a wonderful memory and I got many responses to continue my Local Guides journey from my home town.
But my big inspiration was joining the first Local Guides Volunteer Day celebration on the 10 Dec 2016.
Our winter clothes donation campaign got featured on the Local Guide’s official Facebook page. The platform I got from the Local Guides community extended more after getting the unofficial Local Community support on 23 Dec 2016.
After that, we constantly joined every kind of official and unofficial Local Guides campaign to represent Bangladesh and my city.
After closing the Unofficial Community support program still now I continue my contribution, invite new Guides and Meet-Up hosting.
Being regular on Connect community I met so many Local Guides fellows who were very dedicated, inspiring and who are still leading their success in this community.
Usually, I contribute to helping people and guiding people with pleasure. I am still working for inspired others to be a quality Local Guide, Meet-Up hosting and joining nearby Meet-Up.
The interesting things I have done for this community by starting a campaign called-
Let’s Enrich our Local Maps.
Besides spreading awareness about spam free mapping I also started mapping for the mobility facilities following Local Guides team. I organized lots of accessibility walk to update Google Maps Accessibility feature in different cities in Bangladesh. Besides my hosting,I also inspired others to host Accessibility Meet-Up. In our Accessibility Meet-Up besides updating, We introduce Google Maps to the business owners. We inspired business owners to add Accessible facilities and signage for the disabled community on their business services. We added wheelchair accessible signage where we found this facility. In my Google Maps Contributions, I focused on wheelchair-accessible ramps, Accessible lift, Parking, Kids zone, Women friendly, and Toilet facilities.
Doing these jobs I got my satisfaction completely. I found my happiness truly. Helping millions and helping disable communities is being my true pleasure. Suddenly I got another good news that the Local Guides team want to highlight my Accessibility activity to inspired others. I selected to feature on the Local Guides community as an Accessibility Champion.
Read more about my accessibility activities - Meet Accessibility Champion, Shafiul
Believe me, I did not start my voluntary and contributions to getting any recognitions. This recognition increased my responsibility and pleasure more & more.
So finally I can say that the most interesting thing I have done as a Local Guides is updating mobility facilities services on Google Maps.
Last month I hosted Local Guides clean the World Meet-Up in Dhaka for making local Guides aware against the plastic population and environmental pollution. About 50 Local Guides joined us there and we organized a successful Local Guides Meet-Up together. There we also discussed about Local Guides quality Guiding and how we make spam-free Google Maps together.
A few days ago together we hosted our First Virtual Local Guides Meet-Up with 50+ Bengali Local Guides. That Meet Up was for aware Local Guides to stay home to stay safe. Another target of the Meet-Up was knowledge sharing about Guiding from home right now due to Covid-19 outbreaks. Local Guides from Bangladesh and India join the Virtual Meet-Up.
Everything I mentioned here is my pleasure as a Google Local Guide which is a matter of my proudness too. Doing inspiring jobs and inspired fellows to help their community is my passion right now. I also believe together we can make the world Accessible for all. So it needs to feel pleasure first, whatever you are doing. So I don’t forget to share the wave of my - Happy Guiding! slogans everywhere. Now its become the flag of my most interesting thing as a Local Guide. You may find it on each of my posts or comments ending. So Guiding with happiness and spread Happy Guiding everywhere.
Thanks for reading…
Md Shafiul Bashar
Happy Guiding!
