Hi Sheri,
Providing support on use of Inkscape is unfortunately beyond what we can offer, but perhaps this can be of help: https://inkscape.org/en/learn/tutorials?

Dear Moseng -

Thanks very kindly for your response -- I have a limited technical ability to do this through inkscape - is there any chance for a zoom call / google hangout / or webinar to help? I am doing this for a study I'm conducting for an NGO on syrian refugees (non-profit intentions.) I know its asking for much.

Thanks for the suggestion. Note that Highmaps supports custom maps through SVG or GeoJSON: http://www.highcharts.com/docs/maps/custom-geojson-maps and http://www.highcharts.com/docs/maps/custom-maps