At the end of August, the GeoCodis team set off on a business trip to Rwanda. The main purpose of the trip was to carry out a range of knowledge-transfer activities in collaboration with Caritas Slovenia and Caritas Rwanda, as part of a project co-funded by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia (MZEZ). The activities were divided into two parts: the first focused on geographic information systems (GIS), whilst the second centred on the digitalisation of savings groups in rural Rwanda.
The first part involved training on the use of the QGIS GIS software and the GeoScope plug-in, which was developed by GeoCodis specifically for the project. As a spatial software programme, QGIS is extremely useful in practice across a range of fields: spatial planning, environmental protection, and the prevention of extreme events or the mitigation of their consequences. The GeoScope plug-in enables the analysis of Sentinel-2 satellite imagery to monitor environmental changes such as flooding, deforestation, landslides and fires. The training comprised both theoretical and practical components, and the participants were representatives of Caritas Rwanda and local experts who will be able to apply the knowledge they have gained in their work. All participants received a certificate upon successful completion of the training.
The second part was dedicated to the presentation of the SGA (Savings Groups App) application, which enables the digitalisation of established savings practices in rural village communities without access to banking services. GeoCodis developed the app in collaboration with Caritas Rwanda, which ensured that accurate information on the communities’ established practices was provided, so that the final app would best serve their actual needs. With digitalisation, the process has become more user-friendly and automated, which reduces the likelihood of errors. The first day was devoted to training representatives of Caritas Rwanda, as they will be responsible for providing further training to members of the savings groups. The second day took place in the field in the Rugabano sector, where Caritas representatives began training the first savings groups.
