Bring clean water with Bitcoin – Bitcoin Magazine
This is an opinion piece by Renata Rodrigues, Head of Global Community and Education at Paxful.
Social Change Powered by Bitcoin: Part One
Bitcoin is changing the face of philanthropy. Not only does bitcoin offer transparency and efficiency to nonprofit work, it also has the ability to bring in new donors. On the other end, the interconnection is also reshaping how we view bitcoin.
In this two-part series on bitcoin and social good, I will focus on how two individuals and their respective nonprofits are using bitcoin to change communities around the world. What’s amazing is that you don’t need to understand bitcoin’s underlying technology to see the impact it has on the lives of these people.
First, we’ll take a look at Raul Yazdani and Agua x Vida – a non-profit organization that provides access to clean and safe water to communities in Africa.
Bitcoinforthe100 is a collection of stories and use cases that prove bitcoin is 100% real. Below is a voice embracing bitcoin for social good.
Bitcoin for Social Change: Raúl Yazdani, Neuquén, Argentina
Raúl understands the impact that Bitcoin can have through social good. Through the non-governmental organization (NGO) he advises, Agua x Vida, children across North West Africa now have access to potable water – all thanks to the power of Bitcoin.
Yazdani was introduced to Bitcoin through a 2012 ad, but his curiosity didn’t take hold until the 2020 market surge. As he learned more, he saw how beneficial bitcoin and USDT could be for the nonprofit. Before bitcoin, the organization facilitated its donations through traditional money transfer services. Through these traditional services, they faced one big problem: Every time they sent money, they would lose 15-20% of the donations to fees.
Because of his knowledge of Bitcoin, Yazdani suggested facilitating these donations through Paxful using bitcoin and USDT so that instead of losing money on transfers, they could actually make money in the process: “This non-profit went from to lose 15% of all donations to gain 2%.”
In addition to supplying his NGO with bitcoin, Yazdani also runs a coffee shop in Argentina – “Café Con Ciencia” – with the goal of accepting 50% of all payments in Bitcoin. To do so, he holds meetings at the store called “The Crypto Club”, to help educate people in the area. He is also the director of a local political think tank affiliated with Propuesta Republicana, where he helps develop public policies such as the promotion and legislation of Bitcoin.
Yazdani believes that bitcoin is truly a game-changer for younger generations, especially for those who have limited to no access to traditional financial services. He has seen them improve their standard of living, accumulate wealth and much more: “I have seen for myself how bitcoin can really affect lives. We live in a time where the economy is becoming much more open. That’s why I think bitcoin is important for social change.”
You can learn more about his story here.
This is a guest post by Renata Rodrigues. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.
