The Authorities Support the Project
The exposed island of Vanuatu in the Pacific often experiences natural disasters. There can be tsunamis, hurricanes or earthquakes. Over 10% of the population live on less than 2$ a day.
Oxfam, in collaboration with Sempo and ConsenSys, will now help victims through crypto currency. Australian authorities have expressed their support for this new road too emergencies, where “crypto meets charity”.
A Safer Solution
The victims of Vanuatu need money more than anything else. This is more necessary than, for example, clothing, grain for cultivation and the like. Unfortunately, there is a great risk of distributing money in the form of cash on the island due to crime. In addition, this is an expensive solution.
Thus, a project has now begun where crypto currency is to be used. This eliminates parts of the risk and prevents potential crime. Payments are transparent and help eliminate corruption.
Distributes Payment Cards With Crypto Currency
About 200 households were issued a payment card that contained crypto currency for about 50$ when the project was launched. These cards were linked to Ethereum addresses containing the Dai crypto currency for 50$. Dai is a stablecoin that is locked to the dollar’s value.
The inhabitants could use their Dai on food, medicines, clothes or the like. Stores and schools were given smartphones to accept payments. About 2000 transactions were completed during the period.
An Example for the Future
Nick Williams, co-founder in Sempo, says that this is not the last time crypto currency will be used for emergencies, and has great faith in the project:
“As far as we know this is the first time and NGO has used a stablecoin to provide aid anywhere. This is not a one-off pilot. We believe that using cryptocurrency will allow the unbanked to access finance completely change the way aid runs.”
Sempo has already tested the service in other parts of the world such as, Lebanon, Greece and Kurdistan in Iraq.