After 1 year, [Mission: Agua-Possible] is 20% funded. Vamos! Let's help thirsty Venezuelans!

This is the 52^nd weekly update of Mission: Agua-Possible! I'm DRutter. This post 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 - 6 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, "eager to help" (hungry to invade). 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, 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 cleared dried out plants from his farm plot this week. He and his community are praying for water to keep the farms and gardens alive. )

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.

Could you go one day without running water?

Edgar's family and community have been going without running water for over a year now! Most of us wouldn't enjoy an hour in our homes without using the water, and would never go without for a whole day unless we're camping.

When I started this project, I envisioned it taking maybe a few weeks. I had no idea it would be this hard to raise 1300 dollars for such a good cause, especially when I made it so easy and convenient for people to contribute. We could have easily completed this by now. Edgar's family could be drinking clean water from the natural aquifer under his land. His son Edgar Junior may not have had such serious eye infection complications, if there had been proper running water available. Many are constantly at risk for dehydration, malnutrition, and other serious health complications because they don't have access to what the rest of us take for granted, running water!

I'm obligated to continue this project until it completes as intended. Which means, in a way, I'm a slave to the project until it's finished. I have to keep writing these posts, running the math, taking on risk, using up my time. Sure, I take responsibility for my actions, and I'm going to see it through. But see it from my perspective for a second. I don't want to be doing this another year. I really, really want this to be completed. I want to see people benefit from it. I want people to smile, I want people's health to improve, I want a community to be able to start to heal. It's going to happen, the only question is "when". And you're the answer to that question.

Will you make the water flow, with us?

Much appreciation to those who upvoted last week:

Week 52

week 51 funds: 1643.588 Steem

new funds:

• week 51 post payout = 1.735 STEEM POWER = 1.735 Steem
• 0.5 STEEM direct donation from @MediKatie
• you can send me Steem directly and your donation will be noted here

Total funds: 1645.823 Steem

x 0.161 USD/Steem = $266.62 USD (of $1300)

Current progress: 20.5%

Unfortunately, we weren't able to reach the $10 level (last week's post made about 70 cents), so our contributions were halved and given to the whales this week :(

In addition, there were no direct donations, and the value of STEEM dropped against the Dollar, meaning we backslid about 1% of our progress. So after a full year of constant effort, we have raised just 267 dollars, only one fifth the required funds to buy the well pump.

My wife @MediKatie is very close to giving birth! We're very excited! Because of her serious health concerns, it wasn't expected that this could even happen, but everything has been going very well. Many doctors are involved, to ensure the best possible outcome for this little baby. Imagine if just as much time and resources could be spent on EVERY baby in this world? Every person? Isn't that the kind of world we want to live in, where everybody gets proper care?

If so, shouldn't we start by ensuring everybody in the world at least has access to drinking water? There's no health care without water!

Let's get these people back their water, their dignity, and their health! IT'S TIME!!

Notice of possible post delay

Because I will be taking care of my wife, and then the newborn baby when it arrives, I will be using the Steem blockchain less often than usual. Here and there, I won't have much internet access (or time) at all. It's possible that some Mission Agua Possible posts will be delayed. All donations will still be reported in the next post, normally scheduled each Saturday. 100% of all post payouts still go to the project. There's a transparent permanent record of everything, so the only issues this could potentially cause are some delays.

After a few weeks, I expect posting to return to normal. (Not for long, though! I hope to complete this project as soon as possible!)

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