Bitcoin in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Fiona – Bitcoin Magazine
This is an opinion editorial by Keiko Yoshino, a public law enforcement attorney and lobbyist advocating for blockchain-friendly laws in Puerto Rico, and executive director of the Puerto Rico Blockchain Trade Association.
By September 18, Hurricane Fiona had dumped 30 inches of rain on Puerto Rico in 72 hours, almost as much rain as Seattle receives in an entire year.
Historic flood. Power outages across the island. This was all too familiar to Shirley McPhaul-Castro, who lived through Hurricane Maria.
“The hardest part about Maria was the weeks after,” McPhaul-Castro said. “Seeing empty grocery store shelves, the long lines at gas stations, not knowing when things on the island would return to ‘normal’. I’ve never felt more alone than the moment I realized that the news, social media, the world had only moved on. It felt like we were forgotten.”
McPhaul-Castro is the director of CryptoCurious, the education and community outreach program of the Puerto Rico Blockchain Trade Association (PRBTA). CryptoCurious runs workshops on Web 3 technology, including sessions focused on Bitcoin and wallet security, in Spanish. Through education, it wants to make Bitcoin accessible to all of Puerto Rico.
And now, with the island facing a difficult recovery from Maria, CryptoCurious and the entire PRBTA are working to leverage Bitcoin’s global community and seamless payment technology to help.
“While the electricity, water and internet are working in San Juan, that is not the case throughout the island,” McPhaul-Castro added. “Many people still need help and we want them to know they are not alone.”
Focus Bitcoin Community on Hurricane Relief
PRBTA is a non-profit organization that was converted into a temporary relief fund so that it could immediately help communities affected on the south and west sides of the island. It has raised more than $55,000 to date in donations through the relief fund and accepts bitcoin.
For over four weeks, PRBTA has been buying canned goods, packing supplies and distributing food and water to families still without electricity. To date, it has spent over $105,000 on supplies, impacted over 4,000 families and covered over 20 barriers with the help of over 240 volunteers.
Supplies collected by PRBTA for hurricane relief.
Understanding public skepticism about donations to non-profit organizations and out of an abundance of caution, the PRBTA also created a publicly available spreadsheet showing an itemized list of everything it purchased each day.
It wanted people to feel comfortable knowing that every satan, 100% of their donations go to food, water and medicine. Everyone who works with this organization is a volunteer; there is no overhead. The PRBTA team has stepped away from their day jobs of conference planning and community education to focus on this relief effort.
Two weeks ago, for example, PRBTA rented a 26-foot truck and drove across the island to take 1,000 bags of canned goods, water and toiletries to Barrio Playa in Añasco. The team met Richard “Crazy Legs” Colón who went door to door, and “Team Playa” coordinator Marilyn González, who organized recovery efforts for the community.
PSBTA volunteers and trucks of supplies.
“Añasco had severe flooding, but now that the water has receded, they have to clean out their houses and replace everything from appliances to furniture,” Crazy Legs said.
Crazy Legs has hosted numerous fundraisers and launched a Hurricane Fiona relief GoFundMe to bring awareness and help to Puerto Rico. He is a Bronx-born Puerto Rican dancer and educator, respected globally for his hip-hop and humanitarian contributions.
“I’ve been doing this since Maria, it’s just as devastating to see how people have lost everything, some for the second time,” he said.
The PSBTA team of volunteers
PRBTA joined forces with Puerto Ricans and non-natives committed to providing aid, relief and solidarity to alleviate the primary needs of those affected by Fiona. Hopefully the Bitcoin community’s generous spirit will extend to this latest effort.
Positive things can come from tragic situations. In this case, PRBTA is breaking stereotypes and building partnerships through this relief effort.
If you want to help, you can donate at www.prblockchain.org/relief-fund.
This is a guest post by Keiko Yoshino. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
