I'm DRutter, and this is the 72^nd weekly post for Mission: Agua-Possible! It 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 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 - 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.

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, 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.

( Edgar documented the sad state of the local ferry walkway this week, citing government corruption and rampant inflation for the dangerous conditions. )

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.

Price and donations surge!

The STEEM price took a breather last week, but has moved ahead again this week, boosting the value of our holdings. We also received more generous donations, as you'll read below.

These factors, as well as upvotes on the previous post, add up to an all-time high level of progress! This is happening, and sooner than we might be expecting!

Will you make the water flow, with us?

Much appreciation to those who upvoted last week:

Week 72

week 71 funds: 3039.296 Steem

new funds:

• week 71 post payout = 11.851 STEEM and 11.852 STEEM POWER = 23.703 Steem
• 10.0 STEEM direct donation from @kunschj
• 250.0 STEEM direct donation from @kunschj
• 132.178 STEEM via Steem and SBD donations from @pennsif and @adollaraday
• you can send me Steem directly and your donation will be noted here

Total funds: 3455.177 Steem

x 0.177 USD/Steem = $611.57 USD (of $1300)

Current progress: 47.0%

We're almost ¹/₂ way! At 47%, we're the closest to complete we've ever been (we were 42% a couple weeks ago and 36% last week). I believe the second half of progress will take FAR less time and effort than the first half! In other words, we're on the downhill stretch!

"Hacerlo" - Get it done

This week, @Xpilar and @Streetstyle were commenting back and forth that "it's time to get it done" and that this worthwhile project needs to get completed (sooner rather than later). Everybody agrees on that, especially Edgar and his family! We all pledged to find new ways to make our goal happen sooner.

Longtime supporter Kunsch donated 10 Steem (as he often does) this week, but then turned around and donated another 250! That prompted me to release a second [MAP] post for the week, here. Upon hearing the great news and call to action, @Pennsif responded by sending over some SBD via @adollaraday! All this was put directly into the project holdings, and has resulted in our furthest progress yet.

It's all quite exciting! If you're not already involved in this fun, rewarding, and powerful experience, why not? Even a tiny upvote does have an effect, or you could choose to send in a hefty donation and send the progress meter jumping! Resteems and even comments do help as well.

Next week is already off to a good start, because that secondary post already has several juicy upvotes from @Reflektor and friends, and it will be included next Saturday after it pays out during the week.

In that post, I set forth an estimated and planned time of project completion: July 1, 2020! Only 5 months from now, I want to have funding completed and the currency being gathered/transferred, in order for the pump purchase and installation to go forward asap. If possible, I'd love the whole thing to be wrapped up and functioning by that date, but we'll simply do our best to make it happen as soon as possible!

Please don't let this positive energy and momentum fade, let's keep riding it, keep applying support for the project, and looking for ways to bring in others who want to help us get it done. Thank you to every single person involved, in whatever way you've contributed - YOU are making this happen! It wouldn't be happening without you. You're powerful.

Upvoting this post is MUCH appreciated! 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