Just saw an interesting tweet from the Spanish-language Banano account (Banano En Español Oficial - @ banano_es) sharing an article about a project called "Adopt a Family," which takes donations in Banano, and uses them to help feed children and families in-need. I worked on a translation of the article, and wanted to share it with you here! (the bold sections are taken from the original)
Original Article (In Spanish) https://www.diariobitcoin.com/paises/sur-america/venezuela/proyecto-benefico-alimenta-a-ninos-y-familias-venezolanas-con-la-criptomoneda-banano/
Translation:
Charity project feeds Venezuelan children and families with the Banano cryptocurrency
The charitable project ‘Adopt a Family’ emerged among members of the Banano community and today it has distributed food to more than 1,500 Venezuelans.
There are many cryptocurrencies that exist in the digital world. Some are better known or more valuable, and others that come in the form of memes or jokes. But most have one thing in common: a community of committed enthusiasts.
Originating from the chats of a group of fans of the Banano cryptocurrency (BAN), the 'Adopt a Family' project is an example that when a community organizes itself it can achieve great feats, it does not matter if its members coexist in physical space or virtual. Today, this charitable initiative has managed to feed more than 1,500 poor people in the city of Caracas, Venezuela.
The Venezuelan and founding leader of the project, Simón Cuberos, shared in an exclusive interview with DiarioBitcoin the history of this initiative, the work they carry out in the Caribbean country and the plans they have for the future.
Welcome to the Banano community
Founded in 2018, the Venezuelan project 'Adopt a Family' was born from the effort of a group of cyber colleagues who shared a common theme in Discord chats: Banano (BAN), a forked cryptocurrency of Nano (NANO) characterized by the image of a banana.
With no prior knowledge of digital currencies, Cuberos came to the Banano community around 2017, after receiving an invitation from a close friend. A new spectrum of possibilities opened up for the young Venezuelan, although he would soon discover that he shared other interests with some of the group's members. Beyond the passion for the fruit-themed meme token, Cuberos forged ties of friendship with a German citizen who was willing to give a helping hand to Venezuelans affected by the reality of the country.
At the time I didn't even know that [Banano] was a joke cryptocurrency. There I started to meet a lot of people. Making friends in that community, I met Fabien, who expressed his concern for the situation in Venezuela.
Cuberos relates that it was a "tense" moment in Venezuela, in which inflation was pressing and the energy crisis threatened to extinguish even the last hopes of those who still remained in the country. In a gesture of solidarity, Fabien proposed to Cuberos to send him monthly donations in Banano or Nano for the purchase of food in exchange for a photographic record of what those funds could cover.
“We started doing it month by month. At that time he would send us about USD $ 10, and I would send him photos of what he could buy with that, "says the Venezuelan.
A germ of solidarity
Initially, the cryptocurrency donations had provided financial support to Cuberos' relatives in Venezuela, including his family. But soon, the gesture of solidarity would spread like a contagious germ within the Banano community.
In December 2018 it occurred to me to buy bread, ham and cheese to prepare and distribute sandwiches in Caracas. So, after sharing my plans, the Banano community started donating to expand the distribution to more people.
That first improvised distribution of food to homeless people would mark the beginning of the ‘Adopt a Family‘ foundation. The project took shape in January of the following year, when Cuberos organized with a group of friends to continue the initiative. This time, with greater organization and logistics, they decided that they would have “adopted families”, as well as a distribution of food to children and the elderly with limited resources.
The adopted families would receive around USD $ 10 per month to buy food, on the condition that they give back to the community with photos of the products they buy. Meanwhile, they also organized a monthly food distribution to different vulnerable communities. They mainly focused on organizations and homes for children and the elderly located in the capital city.
To achieve this goal, members of the Banano community - made up of users located in various countries around the world - contribute with donations in cryptocurrency. Later, Cuberos and a team of volunteers were in charge of transforming it into actions.
It was like realizing the fact that with cryptocurrencies, no matter where you are, you can always use them.
More than 1,500 Venezuelans benefited
Cuberos told the media that during 2019 the project distributed food to a total of a thousand Venezuelans, as well as they managed to finance four adopted families on a monthly basis, which included their program. Likewise, the team also managed to finance, through cryptocurrencies, the purchase of children's clothing, which was donated to the non-profit organization Hogar Bambi.
Every time we do a distribution it is a very rewarding experience and I feel like that word falls short. It is the gratitude of people and children. During the last one, for example, the children were hesitating because the sandwich we gave them had ham and cheese on it. They said it was the richest bread they had ever eaten.
In this regard, he details that most of the donations they receive are in Banano and Nano, precisely because it is the community that has been supporting the initiative since its inception. For its part, for the acquisition of food, clothing and other implements, the project team opts to exchange digital currencies for bolivars, since they have never found a business that accepts those tokens.
This year, although the charity initiative has encountered several challenges to move forward, the project has managed to feed a total of 600 people. Fabien's withdrawal, as well as the Cuberos migration process itself and the situation in Venezuela, forced the initiative to be put on hold for several months in 2020. However, this year, after words of encouragement from some members of the Banano community, have been reactivating the project to continue supporting the most needy in the country.
Goals for the future
Among the objectives that the foundation has set for this 2021, it stands out to be able to distribute food to more than 1,000 people. For the next day of distribution they hope to provide food to a total of 90 children from the La Dolorita community, where, in alliance with other foundations, such as Fundarindia, they will also carry out recreational activities such as yoga workshops, taekwondo, nutrition courses, and others.
"This union strengthens the activities that each of the organizations is carrying out on its own," Cuberos commented regarding the event that will take place on August 22.
Among the goals, the founder announced that the project hopes to continue promoting cultural and educational activities among vulnerable communities, so they will continue working to strengthen ties with other foundations. It also highlights the reactivation of the official website. The group lost a significant part of its funding to maintain the website with the withdrawal of Fabien, who left the project for personal reasons.
For his part, the leader of the initiative told DiarioBitcoin that the project is considering the possibility of starting to accept other cryptocurrencies with the opportunity to reach other - and more numerous - communities in the crypto space.
It would certainly be nice to expand to receive donations in more currencies. That can also reveal other cryptocurrencies, as well as the fact that these digital assets can have significant social value.
For donations to the Adopt a Family Project
Banana (BAN): ban_1yus5q18w9eq7q6d7bwrcy56fw485h4441n73trtwhbfuikmc1udncioauk9
Nano (NANO): nano_3dz1ujj8j6r3wdgbrzc4cqsdhwuzuzcf7o7n1xcdfa5byuqhwyrydw8tgf4h
Bitcoin (BTC): bc1qef7xvtlepfsuf8xkwdfg8kjc3kyxnpkxhq4h6j
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OP note: Please be aware use of these addresses is at your own discretion. I looked up the receiving address for Banano and you can see it here on the creeper, which has an activity history of large trx amounts: https://creeper.banano.cc/explorer/account/ban_1yus5q18w9eq7q6d7bwrcy56fw485h4441n73trtwhbfuikmc1udncioauk9/history
The Nano receiving address has a lot of very small micro-trx https://nanocrawler.cc/explorer/account/nano_3dz1ujj8j6r3wdgbrzc4cqsdhwuzuzcf7o7n1xcdfa5byuqhwyrydw8tgf4h/history
And the Bitcoin address here has 0 transaction history. https://www.blockchain.com/btc/address/bc1qef7xvtlepfsuf8xkwdfg8kjc3kyxnpkxhq4h6j
"don't trust, verify"
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