A daunting issue with providing aid to impoverished communities is keeping track of it. Still, a solution to that seems insufficient as local economies struggle due to the lack of cash. To address this problem, the Red Cross societies of Norway, Denmark and Kenya have launched a two-year effort to deploy blockchain-based ‘local currencies’ to bolster trade within the vulnerable communities, a
report by Thomson Reuters Foundation said.
Every year Red Cross distributes $1 billion in the form of cash or vouchers to help people living in disaster-prone areas. Using blockchain, the NGO hopes to provide slum-dwellers and villagers in Kenya a means to earn digital credits for their work. These credits can then be exchanged for local goods and services.
The Red Cross is trying to create a credit loop within the communities. Rather than purely donating cash, they hope to help villagers to become self-sufficient and survive disasters such as drought, which have become frequent events in Kenya.
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