The World 2019

Going Truly Global - Third Time’s a Charm

2019 is our third consecutive year running Merry Merkle. As you can tell, it’s been a wild ride on which we’ve really been able to help real people, in the real world, using magic internet money. This is what it comes down to for everyone in the community who has been involved over the last three years: taking the abstract, intellectual, world of cryptocurrency and translating it into on-the-ground, communal benefits for the kinds of people all the pundits are always claiming crypto is meant to help.

The drive at the heart of Merry Merkle is about creating a tradition around giving that is global, sustainable, and an inherent part of what it means to make magic internet money. We hope you’ll join us on our adventures around the world…

Because it is our third year, we’re partnering with 3 different charities from across the globe, to make this into a truly planetary affair.

The Zoe Project

First up, in Cape Town, South Africa, we have The Zoe Project. These wonderful people help care for vulnerable woman before, during and after pregnancy. We can’t recant the whole history of abuse of women and children in South Africa, but suffice it to say that this is perhaps the biggest social issue on the continent at the moment, and there are few projects poised to make a bigger impact on the sociopolitical landscape of any of the countries we’ll be helping in this year.

Making sure that potential mothers know what options are available to them, and can access the kind of care they need (both physical and mental) as they go through pregnancy and birth is essential to ensuring a more healthy and wholesome next generation. The first 100 days of a child’s life are often the most critical, and the pre- and antenatal care provided by the amazing women in Cape Town make a huge difference in the lives of both mothers and children from otherwise-forgotten areas around the city.

Education in the Favelas

At the second half of 2019, Blockchain Academy (Brazil) and Maker DAO created a partnership to offer blockchain education and programming skills for underprivileged youth in Rio de Janeiro, a program first ideated by the Word Bank. While this course is still going, many young participants have taken part in classes covering Bitcoin, Ethereum and DAI wallets and applications, aiming to allow for them to have a broader understanding of the new developments in decentralized finance and access job opportunities.

More partners joined the initiative, such as Trampol.in, offering course coordination and Bounties Network, offering an invaluable tool to stimulate the participants to continue their learning by earning DAI for completing tasks. A small scale Hackathon is also being planned for the closing event with projects suggested and made with the participation of the community. The plan is to expand this project across Brazil for even more students, enabling them to participate in the global economy. All funds donated will be used for the bounties, supporting the BA staff, and setting up the hackathon.

UNICEF

One of the most recognisiable charities in the world, UNICEF has agreed to get aboard the #MerryMerkle train and help out with their brand new Cryptocurrency Fund, set up to receive cryptocurrencies directly and make sure that this magic internet money gets put to real and beneficial use in the areas around the globe that most need it.

UNICEF uses cryptocurrencies to fund open source technology benefiting children and young people around the world. Under the structure of the UNICEF Cryptocurrency Fund, contributions will be held in their cryptocurrency of contribution, and granted out in the same cryptocurrency.

“This is a new and exciting venture for UNICEF,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. “If digital economies and currencies have the potential to shape the lives of coming generations, it is important that we explore the opportunities they offer. That’s why the creation of our Cryptocurrency Fund is a significant and welcome step forward in humanitarian and development work.”

The first contributions to the UNICEF Cryptocurrency Fund were received from the Ethereum Foundation itself and benefitted three grantees of the UNICEF Innovation Fund – and a project coordinated by the GIGA initiative to connect schools across the world to the internet. We’re hoping Merry Merkle can make nearly as big a splash as the Foundation itself ;)