How Bitcoin gives Elderly Salvadorans a reason to smile

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Loan for magic money on the Internet

Enrique Berrios

Since El Salvador became the first country in the world to make bitcoin legal tender, critics and opponents have predicted a catastrophic end to the experiment.

Yet for many elderly residents of El Zonte – the seaside town that first convinced President Nayib Bukele to descend into the cryptocurrency rabbit hole – bitcoin has only given a smile.

Local dentist Enrique Berrios is waiving his office fees and visiting isolated and rural patients since arriving in the city 17 years ago. After crossing paths with the bitcoin community that settled in El Zonte, its good deeds have now gained international support.

Payment processor BTCPay Server and online community Bitcoin Design have partnered with Berrios to launch Bitcoin Smiles – a crypto crowdfunding initiative that began soliciting donations in August, initially setting a target of 1BTC (worth current of approximately $ 47,000).

This is the amount deemed necessary to provide free examinations, dentures and intensive care to up to 50 patients in need, the project estimated.

In less than five months, Bitcoin Smiles surpassed its fundraising goal to reach a total of 1.88239BTC, at 7:10 pm GMT on Friday, December 31, 2021. The bonus funds will help Berrios afford the portable equipment he needs. to reach patients who cannot make their own way to their practice.

“Not everyone in the surrounding rural area has the means or access to transportation to get to their office,” Bitcoin Smiles notes on its fundraising website. “Many are too weak to make the trip. Sometimes Berrios has to climb mountains for hours on end to make house calls.

It is widely recognized that poor dental hygiene contributes to mental illness and low self-esteem, especially in people who lack most of their teeth – a reality faced by many patients in Berrios’ care. .

In addition to affecting their psychological well-being, the disease can be so severe that it impacts nutritional health by restricting diets.

“It’s not only the lack of access to food, but also the not being able to eat that makes their life more difficult. Unable to chew, they often have to swallow food,” the website explains. “They have little choice to eat, often resorting to a diet of soggy tortillas.”

Pavlenex, developer of BTCPay Server and founder of Bitcoin Smiles, said the initiative started on an ad hoc basis, but now “definitely has the potential to achieve an appropriate nonprofit entity setup.”

In the meantime, Bitcoin Smiles documents Berrios’ work in videos and photos posted to his Twitter account. Whatever you think of El Salvador’s experience with bitcoin, cryptocurrency is improving the lives of dozens of impoverished and neglected people in El Zonte.

The initiative is committed to “continuing our mission” in 2022.

Bitcoin smiles

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