Tawanda Kanhema has been a resident in the United States since 2009, but he still misses his native country every now and again.
Imagine his dismay when a trip down memory lane via Google Street View revealed nothing. His hometown, and in fact, his whole country, were missing from this global showcase of the world’s places.
Later, he discovered that a few other African countries had suffered a similar fate.
Just for Fun
Since, the self-confessed tech junkie was already living in Silicon Valley, he approached Google Maps and volunteered to set things right.
Tawanda borrowed a 360-degree camera through Google’s Street View Loan Program and set off on foot and in a vehicle to document these lost African destinations. In 2018, he travelled through a safari park, set off down the Zambezi River, captured Victoria Falls and documented over 2 000 miles of Zimbabwe’s backroads and city streets.
People have always relied on maps, globes and atlases to make their way around the world. They’re an important way to learn more about places, and pique curiosity about new destinations. Google street view is particularly good at this, since it immerses the viewer in everyday scenes from almost all over the world. What’s more, people can get an incredible amount of information from these maps.
Knowing this, Tawanda was happy to spend his free time showcasing the places he loved, so that others could get a real view of life in Zimbabwe, beyond the news reports and rumours. He believes you can never do enough to showcase the soul of Africa and bring attention to its people, tourist attractions, culture, and small businesses. So far, he’s spent over $5 000 of his own money on his passion to bring Africa to the world. He sees it as a kind of unscripted documentary and is proud to showcase these millions of unposed images of his country in an attempt to revive tourism in Zimbabwe once again.
Explore Zimbabwe
Thanks to Tawanda’s efforts now you can discover Zimbabwe from the comfort of your home too, but we invite you to try out the real thing as soon as you can.
Get in touch and we’ll make all the arrangements for you.
