Ayudarnos, por favor! Un hombre de Steemit necesita agua! [Misión: Agua-posible]

I'm DRutter, and welcome to week 32 of Mission: Agua-Possible! We're progressing toward our 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 intensified recently, as president Maduro doubled down on his currency manipulation, price-fixing, propagandizing citizens, 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, and 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 worthless, 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. 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 previously-unknown man called Guaidó. Electrical blackouts have become almost constant. It seems that violence is coming. Stability for the people appears out of reach.

Edgar

Months ago, I found the blog of 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 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.

( Edgar took risks this week, to bring back food from the ocean. )

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! Once we gather 1300 USD worth of Steem, I'll transfer it to Edgar, to be converted to cash to buy the pump.

Getting this pump for the farm as soon as possible is vital. Water is life!

Steem price falls again

This week, a few decent votes were received, and I contributed 6.0 Steem directly. Despite that, unfortunately, the crashing price of Steem put us further away from completion than we were last week!

Resteems help get new eyes (and upvotes) into the project, so thank you if you're able to resteem occasionally.

Much appreciation to those who upvoted last week:

Week 32

week 31 funds: 195.017 Steem

new funds:

• week 31 post payout = 0.275 SBD and 0.800 STEEM POWER = 1.6 Steem
• 6.0 Steem direct donation from @DRutter
• you can send me Steem directly and your donation will be noted here

Total funds: 202.617 Steem

x 0.365 USD/Steem = $73.95 USD (of $1300)

Current progress: 5.7%

Down from a peak progress of 7.3% a few weeks ago, and now about 5.5%, it is easy to get discouraged. After 32 weeks of posting to Steemit and being resteemed around by many, we're still having trouble pulling in a dollar per week. A pump that costs $1300 isn't going to happen soon enough, at that rate!

Do you have a grand you're not using, that could be put to completing this excellent cause? If not, can you spare 1 of your 70 free weekly upvotes, to get us a fraction closer?

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