Humanitarian organizations often rely on open map data to understand the scale of disaster impact and to guide timely interventions. Our mapping journey (as Kenya Red Cross Society) didn't begin with the goal of building a community of mappers but to generate open data for specific events or projects. These initiatives - often in the form of mapathons and field mapping - brought together students, volunteers and communities around a shared goal: contributing to OpenStreetMap for humanitarian response.

While these project based efforts achieved their immediate objectives, a key realization emerged - project based mapping while impactful does not necessarily create long lasting communities.

This session reflects the learning and insights of holding ad hoc mapathons and trainings to a more structured intentional approach to community building. Well share our lessons from conducting mapathons with university students and coordinated field mapping with local communities. Through trial, iteration, and reflection, we are learning how to create continuity, foster deeper engagement, and align open mapping efforts with long-term impact.