RE: Steem Charity in Action: Give a man some STEEM and you feed him for a day, teach a man Steemit.com and you feed him for a lifetime.
I think your heart is in the right place my friend. I'd highly recommend, however, that instead of depending on folks you don't know personally, you investigate just setting up internet access yourself, as my experience trusting others to undertake what they say they will has been less than nominal.
Also, cell phones with internet access do count, even if they're not the perfect means of accessing Steemit. By simply adding bluetooth keyboards, they can be much easier to write posts with, and that's a lot less expensive than whole computers.
I have lived in the forest with only cell phone internet, but by linking my laptop I was able to write and post with relative ease, if less often than I might have desired because of limited bandwidth.
My guess is that a lot of folks have phones already, and inexpensive keyboards may well make posting on Steemit far easier for them. Posting from cellphones is already possible. For folks truly without other options, due to their economic situation, that may well be enough, and just recruiting new accounts to Steemit certainly can empower them to earn enough to get their own keyboards they can use with their phones.
The monthly expense of broadband internet can be shared in neighborhoods, so recruitment of new Steemit accounts in locales without extant shared access points, but with service available, might really be of great utility to folks.
The idea I am trying to emphasize is that which you lead with in the post, helping folks to help themselves. Ten kids posting and earning $10/mth each from their posts can easily afford to jointly fund a broadband access point, and help their families out with another meal with meat in it every month too. Helping them to set up shared broadband they fund themselves keeps potential parasites out of the loop, and also prevents dependence on other people whose failure can cause the whole group to suffer.
So, first recruit new accounts to Steemit as a primary goal and endeavor. Once they are posting (and recruiting new accounts from their friends) they can add bluetooth keyboards as desirable, and eventually broadband access points and preferable devices. Certainly initial financial assistance can be beneficial, but dependence on that assistance causes folks to be subject to failures of that assistance. Enabling their independence from outside assistance should be a primary focus of the effort, IMHO.
Thanks!
I would but Venezuela is on the other side of the planet. I agree with all of your points. Thanks for the comment and support.
Yes I know exactly where you are coming from. I called this same group of guys out on another post they made. What it looked more like to me was they were taking food donated by charities and setting it up to look like they were actually buying it by placing steemit signs on the front of the boxes, the way they had the food set up outside was actually how you would stack food to sell at market. I told them it actually looked more like what has been being depicted in the news media as people taking donated food and selling it for quadruple it's value. I called them out on a couple of other things that didn't seem to add up and I must have hit a nerve because they removed all the pictures that seemed incriminating. What some people don't understand is there are good area's in Venezuela and really bad area's where people are literally starving and setting up food as they had depicted outside wouldn't have lasted five minutes. In my opinion what these guys are doing is using these kids to make money off steemit and using donated food from charities to make it look like they are buying this food and donating it. In the pictures these kids are not malnourished nor are the adults, they are all still clean and well dressed. These schools are obviously located in the well off area's of Venezuela, what could be more telling then the fact that they are still buying arts and craft supplies then needing to be buying food.
NEVER IN THE TIME I'M HERE IN STEEMIT IMAGINE THAT I WOULD GIVE A FLAG TO A POST OR COMMENT, BUT THIS WILL BE THE FIRST TIME I DO IT.
NOT WHO YOU ARE, BUT I HAVE A LACK OF RESPECT YOUR COMMENT, HERE IN VENEZUELA THAT GROUP OF BOYS THAT YOU DO CALL LIES! THIEVES, ARE ANGELS OF THE GUARD WHO HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HEART AND GIVE EVERYTHING FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO MOST NEED IT , HERE THEY ARE ADVOCATING THE MOST NECESSARY TO MAKE MONEY, NO!
BEFORE MAKING THIS TYPE OF COMMENTS SO THE INTENTIONED SHOULD INVESTIGATE MORE, HERE THE COMMENT THAT IS DONATED, IS NOT GIVEN, HERE WE HAVE TO BUY AT VERY HIGH PRICES, YOU DO NOT KNOW THE SITUATION OF OUR COUNTRY AND YOU THINK THAT FOR US THIS IS A GAME? LET ME SAY NO!
THIS WE DO WITH LOVE, FOR OUR COUNTRY!
I ASK YOU MORE RESPECT! @sunlit7
If they felt what I said didn't depict what was happening in the photos they wouldn't have removed them. Do you really want me to put up photos and articles of people picking through the dumps for food to show I have been informed about what's going on there? Food is being brought in under armed guard because people are so desperate yet you seem to be able to set food stands up outside and there's no one attacking it like they have with the food donations? People can't even get food sent there from friends and relatives through the postal service because it gets stolen before it arrives and you want me to believe you can get your hands on so much food to just give away? People can't even get their hands on the government food bags being handed out yet you had all this food out on display. You had boxes stacked with Steemit stickers, boxes and boxes of food and supplies whereas most people are starving in the streets. Personal hygiene items neatly placed in plastic give away bags...that's reminiscence of how churches and charities pack items that wouldn't be a expense allowed if packed within the country for every penny counts. At the most I will give you the benefit of the doubt as to where you are getting all this food but I won't back off that these are the neediest children in Venezuela right now. Remember flagging works both ways, you going to flag me because you don't like my opinion I can start flagging your articles because I don't agree it's a true representation of what's happening there as far as starving children in need.
Nothing he says has a solid base! It is very easy to attack and say that what I do or other Copatriotas is not real, that we take advantage of the bad situation of others.
Also according to you, we can not buy food boxes here, who told you we can not? Aquila comidad is very expensive, thanks to the price of Steem Dollasrs we can buy large amounts of food or school supplies.
I WILL NOT CONTINUE TALKING ABOUT A PERSON WHO SPEAKS ALONE FOR SPEAKING, I HOPE THAT YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION OF MY COUNTRY, BEFORE CRITICIZING.
When the Man has faith! the world is a small world, since his heart is bigger! @valued-customer
Principle and faith aren't in conflict. If you buy a house from your mother, you still get a deed, after all.
I mean no personal disrespect of you, nor your proposal. I can't since I don't know you =)
However, given the principle that it is best to help people help themselves, and since you are the local contact for this endeavor, you could provide relevant information so that folks wanting to provide help can do so in ways that discourage dependence, and rather empower Venezuelans to create the means they can rely on to lift themselves from poverty.
Dependence on others for security of any kind, whether economic, physical, or for food, creates vulnerability, which only perpetuates the problem faced by Venezuelans disenfranchised by the socialist state.
Being careful to promote independence doesn't prevent being helpful, my friend!
Very Good Night, I respect every word and believe me I am in agreement with what you say and I do not feel that you are lacking about it.
Something that I would like to clarify to the whole community and your person, is that in Venezuela 10 years ago you could do any kind of computer, smart phone or tablet, the salary of the Venezuelan reached for everything, to make market, to buy shoes, clothes and going to the movies.
In the last 2 years the country has fallen in its economy to 1,000% this is crazy, knowing that Venezuela is one of the richest countries in nartural reserves in the world.
I would like to fulfill what you say literally, but unfortunately it is impossible, so that in Venezuela you have the opportunity to buy a used computer, we should save 2 years of our salary.
I have a personal example, at this time I have my wife hospitalized and has not been able to leave since the hospital does not have any type of medication.
With the donations I make, I do not change 100% of their lives to those people, but at least I will give them a big break in their hearts. @valued-customer
I am confident Steemit can help people in Venezuela, since it is a source of a currency other than the Bolivar, while Steem is volative, it isn't depreciating at the horrible rate the Bolivar is.
Are Venezuelans prevented from purchasing from foreign companies? I don't know. It is very sad that so much interference in your lives is undertaken, both by your government, and mine. =/
I am confident that people right here on Steemit will sell used computer equipment for Steem, including shipping. I am ignorant of whether Venezuela will allow you to buy it.
Here in my country, we are all Blocked. I'm sad to say but Venezuela is limited to destruction. A bad economy, you can not get food, or medicines, we are in crisis.
Thanks to steemit, 27% of the community in venezuela with internet is living comfortably. (only a little).
What percentage of people in Venezuela have internet access? What do you mean by 'blocked'? How are goods like toilet paper sourced? Are there manufacturers there, or all supplies imported?
Some information like that would make potential solutions better discussed.
What I mean, is that we do not have the opportunity to buy things that are normal for anyone, such as toothpaste, shampoo, bath soap, since this kind of things no longer produce in Venezuela and when coming from another country They are very expensive.
In Venezuela the internet is very slow, I do not know exactly how many Venezuelans have access to the internet.
Then how can you quote this very precise number?