This is the official Mission Agua-possible post of the week! We're gathering Steem equal to 1300 USD, to buy a pump for a neighborhood well. This will instantly provide years of clean drinking water for several families and a small farm in crisis-stricken Venezuela! This is week 12.
Background
Severe economic and political crisis over the past few years in the South American country of Venezuela intensified recently, as president Maduro doubled down on his currency manipulation, price-fixing, propagandizing citizens, and suppressing resistance. You may recall an attempted "exploding drone attack" there earlier this year. But the world's media isn't showing us even half the reality.
I met a few people from Venezuela, and I started to hear their interesting stories - and ask questions. I discovered the dark truth about the economic and political situation there. Shops are empty, people are hungry - the economy is at a standstill. Theft, corruption, and violence escalate as society breaks down. Millions are fleeing on foot - if they can escape. The harsh socialist government attempts to control almost every aspect of life, and blames problems on the people. Most government services (like running water) work only in certain areas - or not at all. A few weeks ago, 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, claiming he would steal it.
In the midst of all this, I met Edgar (@edgargonzalez), 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 make 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 gardens have withered - 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 harsh situation. When I heard about this problem, through Steemit, I realized that Steemit could also be the SOLUTION!
That's when I stepped forward with Mission Agua-possible! Once we gather 1300 USD worth of Steem, I'll transfer it to Edgar, to be converted to cash to buy the pump.
Getting water flowing on the farm as soon as possible is vital. Water is life!
We are gathering Steem!
After a fair week last week, we had solid week of upvotes and donations. Thanks to @jk6276's raffle here, we got some Steem and some new supporters! He has been working hard to generate capital and community interest - thank you very much, John.
There are too many people helping out to mention everybody each time, but @novacadian has been generously helping various Steem users in recent weeks, and some of that support has landed on Mission: Agua-Possible. Thanks very much bud!! Other members decided to pledge their upvote and support "each week until completed", which is an interesting and welcomed way to help! Thank you everyone.
Resteems help get new eyes (and upvotes) into the project, so thank you if you're able to resteem occasionally.
And a big thank you to everybody who upvoted last week's post!
Week 12
week 11 funds: 65.425 Steem
new funds:
- week 11 payout = 0.005 SBD, 1.343 SP, and 1.329 Steem = 2.686 Steem
- 10.25 Steem from @jk6276's raffles!
- 0.5 Steem tip from @jk6276
- 0.1 Steem direct donation from @hempy
- 0.25 Steem direct donation from @GirlsofGreen
- you can send me Steem directly and your donation will be added here
Total funds: 79.211 Steem
Current USD value: $19.64 (of $1300)
Current progress: 1.5%
We did well for Steem income again this week, but the USD price of Steem is crashing again, putting our overall progress slightly down. We've pulled in 80 Steem, which has taken considerable effort and sacrifice, but unfortunately it's only worth twenty bucks right now. Don't be discouraged, though. This project will be successful, the only issue is how long that will take. I believe the success of M:A-P is closely related to the success of Steem. When the crypto market recovers (2019, hopefully!) Steem will go to new highs. At the same time, people's excess funds and generosity will be on the rise, and Steemit will be busy with new users and investors again. The convergence of these factors will easily put us over the 1300 USD mark, especially since we're going to continue to accumulate Steem while it's good and cheap.
If you believe in Steem, then you believe in Mission: Agua-Possible! I'm working toward the success of both because I see their fates as linked.
Upvoting this post is appreciated so much! 100% goes toward the pump.
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