Hi, I'm DRutter, and this is the 53rd weekly update of Mission: Agua-Possible! This post updates our progress toward the goal of 1300 USD (in STEEM) for a well pump to bring water to the family farm of @EdgarGonzalez.
Background
Severe economic and political crisis over the past few years in the South American country of Venezuela have intensified in 2019, as president Maduro doubled down on his currency manipulation, price-fixing, propaganda, and suppressing resistance. You've heard about the country's recent turmoil, but the world's media isn't showing us even half the reality!
I began to see more and more Steem users from Venezuela, I started to hear their interesting stories - and ask questions. I discovered some dark truths about the economic and political situation there. Most shops are empty, the currency is collapsing, people are hungry - the economy is at a standstill. Theft, corruption, and violence escalate as society breaks down. Those who can are fleeing on foot - 6 million already. The harsh socialist government attempts to control/fix the economy, and blames problems on the people. Most government services (like running water) work only in certain areas - or not at all.
The people are desperate for any change and protests sometimes fill the streets for miles. Maduro announced that Venezuela will no longer accept US Dollars for oil exports, then tried to get his country's gold back from Bank of England, who refused. The Russian military has become involved, supporting Maduro. The Americans back a man called Guaidó, who also has little public support. Electrical blackouts happen regularly. The US is blockading the country with their navy from the sea, "eager to help" (hungry to invade). Stability for the people appears out of reach.
Edgar
In mid-2018 I found @edgargonzalez, the blog of Edgar, a Venezuelan man about my age. He's a father of young children, and a professional whose job disappeared because of the crisis. He feeds his family by fishing, foraging for fruits, and growing cassava on his late-father's plantation. He uses Steemit to share his stories and earn Steem to buy food. Shortly after I met Edgar, a power outage caused a failure of the pump used to bring water up to the farm. A repairman confirmed the pump is beyond fixing. Edgar had been using his well to water his crops, and to provide drinking water to his children and other families in the neighborhood. Without a pump to bring water up from the aquifer, his garden output has dropped - and the neighborhood must forage for water elsewhere.
Without government water services, and now without water from his well, Edgar and a few other families are in a tough situation. I wondered what a poor Canadian man could do to help. After using the Steem blockchain to learn about the problems, I realized that it could also be the SOLUTION!
That's when I first began Mission Agua-possible! (The first post was here. I published a special video edition in week 43 here.) Once we gather 1300 USD worth of Steem, I'll transfer it to Edgar, to be converted to cash to buy the pump.
Water is life! Getting this pump for the farm as soon as possible is vital.
We're on the right track
Over a year into this project to bring a thirsty neighborhood water, we've accumulated a decent amount of STEEM, and have several dedicated supporters determined to see the project through to completion. Clearly, the only question is "when?"
HF21 caused an unexpected change in how the blockchain works, and our strategy of gathering upvotes toward the goal is no longer ideal. Now, posts that don't receive at least $20 in upvotes gets pillaged to boost posts that do. Additionally, half of all upvotes are now returned to the upvoter, making it VERY hard for us to take in any new funds!
Our only hope against this is to focus on reaching that $20 post value each week, and wait for the STEEM price to finally recover. Please give us your biggest possible upvote on these weekly posts.
Will you make the water flow, with us?
Much appreciation to those who upvoted last week:
Week 53
week 52 funds: 1645.823 Steem
new funds:
- week 52 post payout = 4.752 STEEM and 4.753 SP = 9.505 Steem
- 49.248 STEEM direct donation from @kunschj
- you can send me Steem directly and your donation will be noted here
Total funds: 1704.576 Steem
x 0.167 USD/Steem = $284.66 USD (of $1300)
Current progress: 21.9%
Thank you to Kunschj and all the other contributors that have regularly donated, resteemed, commented, and even made posts to support Mission Agua Possible. I knew I couldn't do this whole thing myself, and I'm so happy that others have also become passionate about funding this pump. Besides, through our mutual efforts we've built a sort of community here, around this project. That's one of the real goals and purposes of the blockchain, so in that way, we are absolutely already a success.
Upvoting this post is appreciated so much! 100% goes to the project.
Mission Agua-Possible will help many people, and inspire other great projects. It's a group success story, playing out on the Steem blockchain. Together, we're going to dramatically improve the lives of a whole neighborhood that really needs it!
DRutter