When people imagine tropical beaches with volcanic sand, warm seas and dreamy surf waves, they describe Elzonte in El Salvador. It’s hard to think of this natural paradise once for decades as the battlefield of Latin America’s most savage and violent gangs. According to a report by UNICEF, the murder rate in 2015 was 103 per 100,000 people. As a result, thousands of children are orphaned and vulnerable as employed by drug cartels, and the only option for a better life is to migrate to the United States.
Chinbera was born in the Elzonte community. There, opportunities were separated by roads separating the beach from the mountains. “In the past, if you were born on a beach, you were a fisherman like your father or grandfather. If you were born on the mountain, you were a farmer. The women were primarily housewives. Roman Martinez’s smile, something rare in modern history.
Chinbera looks at the sky before continuing to look back at her dreams. “We believe in God and the law of charm of different things, but it’s fundamental to believe in something that moves you to commit and work every day for that dream. The beginning was to let your children have more opportunities in the community, protect delinquency, and start their dreams.” The problem is that they tell you many times that they “fight for your dreams,” but they don’t give you the tools or knowledge that can achieve them. “That’s where our dreams begin. Jorge meets children on the streets, supports them and encourages them to dream of a better future.
It’s hard to get emotional with Jorge Valenzuela, as he tearfully explains why Jorge Valenzuela decided to build Hope House. “We tried to give these kids opportunities that our friends didn’t have, and why many of them were gone with us,” as with most of the Elzonte residents, there’s a story to tell him too. About 20 years ago, Jorge made a living from agriculture. He had a heart of surfing and waves, but the sad reality around him forced him to put his feet on the ground. At the time, the job market only offered two options. Become a gang member or be hired as private security for real estate. The sad and violent reality of those years presented dead ends. “In general, there was a lack of opportunities for employment, education and personal development. In the face of this, many people called for migration and searching elsewhere,” Jorge clearly explains.
That year, when the sun began peering into the mountains that morning, Jorge knew what he wanted to do. He took the board and went to Black Sand Beach. There, Hilbin waited for him, his board stuck into the sand, his eyes on the horizon. Together they learned to read the ocean and feel the direction of the wind. They had warned strangers about the dangerous currents that dragged them into the ocean to be unsuspecting, but over time they began to tell the youngest members of the ocean and their community that they were going to surf. Patience is the greatest virtue of a surfer. Those who know how to wait are those who have managed to ride the perfect wave. Both spent the afternoon sitting on the boards looking for the best strategies to move on to help the community. It was floating in the ocean, where Hilbin and Jorge identified areas with great potential. “We were able to invite them to visit our community by showing the beauty of our land as a window into connecting us with other countries, tourism as our main tool.” They were sure they could create new jobs in town. “I was a surf instructor at the time and I felt that the sport was fundamental to everything that happened later in Elzonte,” Jorge says.
No one could have imagined the world’s first Bitcoin circular economy to emerge on its beach, surrounded by humble homes and dirt roads. Soon, the paths of Jorge and Hilbin intersect with those who change their lives. “Because of the twist of fate, people like Mike, Melissa, Carlos and Alex decided to move to Elzonte and devote their time and effort to help the community,” recalls Jorge. The beach and surfing were their gatherings. “We were kids. They remember that they started teaching us English. They contacted tourists arriving at us, and that cultural exchange began to change our minds. Jorge evokes the appearance of Mike Peterson and soon realizes that if he hadn’t met him, his life could have been very different.
With Mike incorporating into the project, they began codifying community work on the beach. The idea was simple. It creates opportunities and hope for young people. Give them the strength to be leaders and give them the tools they need so they don’t have to migrate or get involved in gangs. Fill in “the tank of child love,” as Jorge defines in his own words. “When we were little, they taught us some words in English, so they helped us to read and write better, but when my 17-year-old daughter was born today, we were children who had an empty love tank.” The community in which our children grew up without parents or older siblings gives us love, support and examples to follow. “We all have tanks. They can be empty or filled with love and hope. That’s what the kids in our community needed.”
Mike wasn’t a blue-eyed gringo who came to Elzonte and fell in love with the beach and people. Peterson arrived as a surfer, but soon became the maker of his dreams.
Learn more at Bitcoin Circular Economy
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Source: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/bitcoin-books/an-excerpt-from-bitcoin-circular-economies-the-beginning
