[Mission: Agua-Possible] Do they even know it's Christmas, down in Venezuela?

Want to find out how YOU can contribute to putting clean water in the glasses, sinks, and irrigation system of a small farm in crisis-stricken Venezuela? Welcome to Mission: Agua-Possible! This is week 14 of our efforts to gather Steem equal to 1300 USD, to buy a pump for a neighborhood well.

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. 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. Now there is talk of Russian military involvement, American meddling, and worse.

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.

"Christmas is joy, forgiveness, sharing, reconciliation, love, but this year many friends, relatives, cousins ​​have gone to another country and therefore the table on 24 and 31, will be empty chairs .. I wish you a Merry Christmas ... to all my friends from Steemit."
"La navidad es alegría, perdón, compartir, reconciliación, amor pero este año muchos amigos, parientes, primos se han ido a otro país y por lo tanto la mesa el 24 y 31, estarán las sillas vacías .. Les deseo una feliz navidad.. a todos mis amigos de Steemit."
( Edgar this week describing the damage the
economic crisis has brought to his country & family. )

Without government water services, and now without water from his well, Edgar and a few other families are in a tough 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, and even if we can't get this done in time for the holidays, what a nice gift it is to contribute toward this project! :)

Price of Steem finally bottomed! May the bull market be long and prosperous!

Have we been through the worst, for this crypto downtown? Steem hit a low of $0.21 USD on Sunday, and has just made a nice jump up to $0.32 USD (a 50% gain). You'll see below how this has impacted our numbers.

Thanks to the resteemers, commenters, tippers, pledgers, rafflers, and various other participants! You're making this project your own, which is how I hoped it would evolve, and I think we're getting close to really being noticed by the broader Steemit community, who will likely finish off the project quickly. We're building momentum, so don't be discouraged if the goal still seems far off. It's not as far as it seems right now!

From now on, our troubles will be miles away! Here we are as in olden days, happy golden days, of yore. Faithful friends who are dear to us, gather near to us, once more. Through the years, we all will be together, if the fates allow! Hang a shining star upon the highest bough! And have yourself a merry little Christmas, now.

Y en Español...

A partir de ahora, nuestros problemas estarán a kilómetros de distancia. Aquí estamos como en los viejos tiempos, días dorados felices, de antaño. Amigos fieles que son queridos por nosotros, se reúnen cerca de nosotros, una vez más. A través de los años, todos estaremos juntos, si el destinos lo permite. Cuelga una estrella brillante sobre la rama más alta. Y date una feliz Navidad, ahora.

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!

And those who upvoted the bonus comment in that post, 100% of which goes toward the project:

Week 14

week 13 funds: 87.761 Steem

new funds:

• week 13 payout = 0.005 SBD, 1.328 SP, and 1.315 Steem = 2.656 Steem
• week 13 bonus comment payout = 0.242 Steem
• 2.0 Steem direct donation from @jk6276
• 1.0 Steem direct donation from @MediKatie
• 1.5 Steem direct donation from @shredz7
• you can send me Steem directly and your donation will be noted here

Total funds: 95.159 Steem

Current USD value: $31.01 (of $1300)

Current progress: 2.4%

Our steady progress combined with a rising USD price of Steem, to swing us from 1.5% to 2.4% progress this week! Hopefully our progress, and the strength of Steem, continues into the new year.

Upvoting this post is appreciated so much! 100% goes toward the pump.

You'll also find my comment on this post, also with 100% payouts to the pump, so that generous upvoters have the option of contributing TWICE per week.

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!

Happy solstice, and have a very merry Christmas! <3
DRutter