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[ Mission: Agua-Possible ] Final - Conclusion - Terminado

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@drutter
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Severe economic and political crisis over the past few years in the South American country of Venezuela intensified in recent years, 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!

In 2018 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 and internet blackouts happen regularly. Stability for the people appears out of reach.

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 nearby families. Without a pump to bring water up from the aquifer, his harvests are reduced - 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, to gather 1300 USD worth of Steem and transfer it to Edgar, to be converted to cash to buy the pump!

( Edgar has become a minor celebrity on the blockchain, in part because of [MAP], but also because he regularly produces content that is appreciated by the community. His posts are simple, but honest, and show what a regular man's life in Venezuela during economic collapse looks like. Through his phone camera photos and Spanish-English text translated through an online service, I've learned about economics, life, and myself. Posts like this one from last week are typical for Edgar, each earning a significant payout that will go a long way for him locally. So in that regard, Edgar has already found some success via the blockchain, regardless of this project's outcome! )

Water is life! We've done everything we could to get this pump for the farm.

After deciding to close the project and get Edgar whatever funds we could, last week was going to be the final post. But with the recent splitting of blockchains (Steem and Hive) and currencies, there was an unexpected chance to turn what looked to be a failure into a success. I extended the project for an extra 7 days, as most participants (and the community itself) were still in flux with the sudden upheaval, and to allow anyone who wanted to contribute some HIVE to do so.

The final donations and payouts are in, and added to the calculations! After the better part of 2 years (during a brutal bear market for cryptos), let's see how we did!

Much appreciation to those who upvoted last week:

week 80 funds: 4777.7 STEEM and 100.0 HIVE

new funds:

  • week 80 Steem post payout 1.435 SBD, 2.450 STEEM and 10.651 STEEM POWER = 21.302 STEEM
  • week 80 Hive post payout 0.306 HBD, 1.066 HIVE and 2.733 HIVE POWER = 5.466 HIVE
  • 35.0 STEEM direct donation from @Xpilar and Sultan-aceh
  • 100.0 HIVE direct donation from @longsilver (and @fishyculture)
  • Public donations are now closed.

Total funds:

4834.002 STEEM x 0.186 USD/STEEM = 899.12 USD
205.466 HIVE x 0.186 USD/HIVE = 38.22 USD

FINAL progress: 937.34 / 1300 USD (72%)

As I hinted at last week, I've decided to make the pump happen for Edgar.

When I conceived of this whole thing, I envisioned it only taking a few weeks, and the community quickly rallying together with 1300 bucks for a fellow Steemian who needed water. Things didn't happen as quickly as I'd hoped, and a brutal bear market in cryptos (especially STEEM) wiped out my personal savings. More importantly, the continued collapse in prices ensured the project could never reach 100%, regardless of the support it received. After more than a year of desperation, cryptos hit rock bottom, and our holdings finally began to appreciate. When the coronavirus outbreak toppled world markets and sent STEEM tumbling back to all-time lows, the urgent decision was made to end the project and get Edgar whatever funds we were able to. But thanks to the Hive split, a slight recovery in our funds has combined with further help from @Xpilar and other big supporters, to bring us within striking distance of the goal!

And with that, I'd like to announce the final addition Mission: Agua-Possible...



Final total:

4834.002 STEEM 205.466 HIVE (I will transfer to STEEM & cover the conversion fee) 2000.0 from MediKatie

7039.468 STEEM (1309.34 USD)

[ To the 1300 USD, I'm adding an extra 9+ USD to the payment, to offset any possible exchange fee Edgar may pay (depending how he moves the funds). I want to be sure he ends up with the full amount in case he needs every dollar for the pump, parts, and installation. ]

We did it! Rounding the total up to 7040 STEEM, I'm going to break it into 2 equal transfers of 3520 STEEM. The first has just been sent:

The second half will be sent later this week as my powerdowns and transfers finish coming in. I'll make a short post showing the final transfer, some stats, and any unfinished business, in about a week.

Mission Agua-Possible inspired dozens of regular contributors and supporters over the months and years. We promoted positive change, cooperation, international brotherhood, peace, charity, goodwill, generosity, and kindness. We used free market forces and voluntary pooling of resources, harnessing the power of blockchain and community, to manifest a significant positive change in a part of the world that really needed it. Thank you SO much to everybody who became a part of Mission Agua Possible! It really was YOU who made this happen!

DRutter


Posted via Steemleo