Makoko is an informal settlement off the coast of Lagos, Nigeria, where a third of people live in houses built on stilts. Residents live with the constant fear of eviction, compounded by the fact that, until recently, the area didn’t exist on a map. But that all changed in 2019, when Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team Micrograntee Code for Africa mapped the whole area as part of the Map Makoko project. The project also trained local women to fly drones, so they could be part of putting the community on the map.

Now, for the first time, community leaders, residents, planners, and emergency responders have accurate information on the location of schools, clinics, water sources, sewers, roads, markets and homes in Makoko. The project has received incredible media coverage, featuring in Al Jazeera, AFP, CNN and other outlets.

“Before [the Map Makoko] project, we were in the dark. We are only fishermen, we didn’t know how to mark out the different neighborhoods - we’re very happy.”
- Traditional chief in Makoko