[ Mission: Agua-Possible ] is harnessing cryptos to help a Steemian from Venezuala in need!

It's DRutter, with the 68^th weekly post for Mission: Agua-Possible! It 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 - 8 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. 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, harvesting fruits, and growing cassava on his late-father's plantation. He uses the Steem blockchain to share his stories and earn cryptocurrency 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 harvests are reduced - and the neighborhood must forage for water elsewhere.

( Edgar returned to the blockchain this week, showing us how much his children enjoyed a visit to the mall in the city, where they loved the Christmas decorations. )

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.

Beyond the ¹/ ₄ mark

The price of STEEM didn't fall very hard this week, plus we had some good upvotes and excellent direct donations! As you'll read below, these factors added up to visible progress.

The "side mission" (holiday water gift) was a success, and Edgar received those funds a few days ago - details below!

Now, we return our focus in 2020 to finishing this project as quickly as possible! Let's get that pump purchased and installed before the next major drought hits. Each time Edgar's family goes without proper water for extended periods, people fall ill, and risk death. I'd love to finish this awesome project BEFORE the next sad news from Edgar's neighborhood.

We know we can do it, and we know we're GOING to do it... all we need to determine now is WHEN!

Will you make the water flow, with us?

Much appreciation to those who upvoted last week:

Week 68

week 67 funds: 2515.256 Steem

new funds:

week 67 post payout = 6.811 STEEM and 6.811 STEEM POWER = 13.622 Steem
1.5 STEEM direct donation from me
10.0 STEEM direct donation from @davedickeyyall
100.0 STEEM direct donation from @kunschj
180.0 STEEM donation match from @xpilar
you can send me Steem directly and your donation will be noted here

Total funds: 2820.378 Steem

x 0.126 USD/Steem = $355.37 USD (of $1300)

Current progress: 27.3%

We passed 2800 STEEM this week! And we pushed through the ¹/ ₄ level, despite another drop in the value of STEEM. This was thanks to generous donations from @kunschj, @xpilar, and @davedickeyyall, significant upvotes from @canadian-coconut, @xpilar, @alexis555, and lots of smaller support that adds up.

Thanks to @xpilar for matching several donations last week, that really helped!

Conclusion: holiday water gift

We managed to gather and send 107.113 STEEM to Edgar! Thanks to everybody involved in the side project. Once Edgar makes a purchase and reports back, I'll mention it in the next [MAP] post. He has asked that I pass along his thanks.

The support from several respected Steemians and groups is lifting Mission Agua Possible to new heights. There are now many of us getting truly behind the project, and the overall community seems to be taking note. I'm excited to see where the new year will take us.

What could be...

With the flick of a whale tail, this project could be boosted by 10% or more, we just have to catch their attention! Some projects are able to earn hundreds of dollars per week in upvotes! In fact, some of them are getting onto the Trending page with their empty daily posts. Check out this project, which claims to be trying to fix the Steem economy by burning (deleting) a certain amount of funds. Look at all those dolphins and whales, maxing out their upvote to that project, EVERY single day! And there's no Edgar involved - nobody getting helped. It's just a huge money-making operation, conducted by some of the biggest names on this blockchain, and nobody can do anything about it because they hold a majority of the power. Imagine if they were to focus all their upvotes onto a worthwhile project like this? Edgar would have clean water flowing on his farm in just a few days!

So that shows us that it's possible to attract large amounts of upvotes, and that what we're doing CAN succeed... we just have to convince those whales and dolphins to maximize their upvote on THIS post instead! If you know anyone there, please give them a nudge and ask them why they're not supporting Mission Agua Possible. It's one of the most worthwhile and beneficial projects on the Steem blockchain!

Let's get this post above $10, at least! Otherwise, under HF21 rules, it gets pillaged (our upvotes get taken away) to boost up other posts which do get at least $10. It's the epitome of "the rich get richer", and unless we hit ten dollars each week, it's happening to us! If we want to keep 100% of our upvotes here, we have to add up to at least $10.

Upvoting this post is MUCH appreciated! 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