Building a Bridge Rather Than a Wall in Mexico

in #vivacoin8 years ago (edited)

Sometimes small steps can lead to beautiful things. I want to share with the Steemit community an event that @williambanks @alechahn and I are hosting tomorrow in Baja Mexico. As you can see from the topics listed in the flyer, we will be sharing information about blockchain technologies like Steemit and digital currencies like Bitcoin, Steem and the Viva economic engine we are developing. I will be showing this post to the group as an example of publishing content on Steemit and hope you all can show some love and comment!

This event is a showcase of some exciting collaboration that is blossoming. It started with a public clarion call within my network for donations of used computers or laptops to help create computer labs for three local schools in La Mision that I learned from my friend and neighbor Gracie Fields had nothing.  These are families that work on local farms in the Guadalupe Valley and families average about $150 a week which doesn't leave much for extras let alone education. To me it was tragic that these children were going be stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide. Friend and hero, Mike Hagstrom, who organizes electronic recycling events all over California answered my call and said that he had hundreds of computers to choose from just tell him what we needed.  From there magic started to happen and we cut the ribbons for the first computer lab last month!!


Since then Mike Hagstrom has facilitated US Kids Chamber becoming involved and together they will be creating more computer labs for communities in Baja and mainland Mexico, they will be providing a powerful entrepreneur educational platform and a network to connect Mexican and American children in creative collaboration!  Special kudos to @Williambanks who stepped in and has been helping get all of the cabling and lines figured out and upgraded so we can get the schools online!  Stay tuned as this develops further.

As we have all been following Trump and the infamous "Wall" building project, it looks like he will be targeting remittances to Mexico for paying for his pet project along with targeting the fees from American bank cards taking money out in Mexico. Rates as much as 20% has been tossed around and Bitcoin and other digital money can be a viable solution to avoid these tax hits.  Here is some discussion on that:  https://news.bitcoin.com/trump-wall-remittance-tax-bitcoin-boost/

Excitingly we will be putting our second baja Bitcoin and digital currency ATM at Gary's La Fonda restaurant (where we are hosting the event) and will share more with attendees on how to use a digital wallet, using and earning Bitcoin and other currencies and finally how to take out fiat currency on the ATM. 

We also have a relationship that has developed over the last couple of years with a chain of hospitals in Baja that are developing tele-medicine healthcare kiosks, our software is operating in the background and our blockchain will be the foundation of the medical records systems for their system.  They are launching the pilot program in this area and are offering free healthcare at the local schools and orphanage. So a lot to be excited about.

If you have not yet seen the four part series on the new Viva economic engine we are developing, please check out the four part series our architect William Banks posts here on Steemit and if you are in the area this is your chance to hear him speak live and answer questions! https://steemit.com/vivacoin/@williambanks/introduction-to-viva-a-price-stable-crypto-currency-with-basic-income-that-s-not-hypothetical 

Thanks for resteeming and sharing the love!




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This is an awesome post!
I will be there giving a talk explaining the unique benefits that block chain backed currencies provide to the expat community.
But if anyone wants to come and do Q&A with me or any of my team, please feel free to come on by!

Holy crap! When did I get so fat?

I wish I could be there as I would benefit from an Q&A!

Awesome badass! Really cool stufc to see go public. See you guys tomorrow! Lets see some pics where those Tshirts ended up in the next post!! :)

Welcome back. Sounds like the technology could be the push for world without border. I' m joining a meetup on Bitcoin next month to see if i can learn something.

Very cool post! Blockchain technology is slowly going to revolutionize the world, and it seems like it could be really useful to these people :)

Nice post and great work you're doing 😄

Do you think the Bitcoin loop hole here is legal or might there be any possible issues arising you've thought of?

Would love to hear how this went. I have been going back and forth on hosting an event like this In playa del carmen, where im at.