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Rotary Information

Community-led risk mapping: Building peace in conflict

zones

12 February 2026

By Jaefer Jemal Muhammed, a 2026 Rotary Peace Fellowship finalist, University of
Bradford master's degree program

In 2023, Fano militants intercepted the minibus I was traveling in near Merawi, Ethiopia,
ransacking our belongings looking for weapons. I didn't bear any arms, I wasn't a soldier. I
was a project manager tasked with building a gas station that will fuel ambulances and
clinics, restoring essential services for more than 50,000 civilians amidst an ongoing conflict.
In that moment of terror, staring down an AK-47, I realized peace isn't created in conference
halls alone. Sometimes it is forged on a road between two hostile towns when infrastructure
is built to restore trust and dignity.

Peacebuilding as infrastructure

Traditional peacebuilding models, while crucial, can sometimes overlook the systems that
hold fragile communities together. In places like Amhara, where formal institutions have
stalled or collapsed due to active conflict; roads, fuel, electricity, and healthcare are more
than amenities - they are instruments of trust. When people can drive ambulances safely,
access power during lifesaving treatment, or send their loved ones to clinics without the fear
of crossfire, the foundations of peace are laid quietly.

This philosophy has guided my work for the past eight years as a project manager and lead
architect operating in conflict-affected regions of Ethiopia. It is also the basis for the
DangerScout Model, a community-driven danger mapping framework I developed while
managing infrastructure projects in war zones.

The DangerScout Model

Before sending workers in and commencing the gas station project, I spent three days in
Merawi to understand movement patterns, military presence, and civilian behavior. A
striking pattern emerged: violence flared as the rebels struck the military when it moved
between towns. Safe zones shifted quickly and to safely operate within the town, informal
intelligence among locals was crucial. That's when the idea emerged: tap into the real-time
knowledge of minibus drivers.

I partnered with three local drivers who navigated cross-town routes transporting passengers.
Through an informal network of drivers, they tracked clashes, checkpoints, and armed
convoys looking for safe passages. In exchange for modest stipends, these "Danger Scouts"
began couriering construction documents, reporting safer roads for material transportation,
and mapping danger zones in real time, all while doing their usual work.

Lessons learned