By Binance, the worlds largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume and Binance Charity Foundation, which is the philanthropic arm of the company recently announced the expansion of its Lunch For Children program to 10 new schools in Uganda.
Since the initial launch in February 2018 for students and staff of the Jolly Mercy Learning Centre in Kampala, BCF has expanded its support to 3,747 students and faculty across 10 schools in Jinja and Kampala in Uganda.
Each beneficiary was provided with their own Trust Wallet, Binance’s mobile crypto wallet service, where they received a daily crypto donation worth US$0.30 in BNB for their school lunches for a full year. The donation for the 10 new schools which totals US$236,061 was made possible by Binance as well as BCF’s sponsors and TRON, IOST and an unnamed Binance VIP customer.
The donated funds are then delivered to the crypto wallet held by suppliers who then provide food to the schools every day. Suppliers are then eligible to redeem the crypto funds to Ugandan shillings via Binance Uganda, which was launched back in October 2018 as the country’s first fiat-to-crypto exchange.
Blockchain-powered Donations Brings Children Back To Schools:
The Lunch for Children initiative has garnered notable interest from the crypto community as a whole on the great use of blockchain for charity. To date, more than 10 crypto companies have pledged to donate to BCF, with as many as five already having sent their donations. Binance has humbly extended their thanks to the companies who have already joined the cause in pioneering goodwill and charitable giving on the blockchain all the while adding more transparency and accountability in the field of charity work.
Bwire Daniel, A Program Volunteer stated:
“I was surprised when I arrived at the Kitgombe C/U Primary School, and the children welcomed me with very joyful expressions on their faces. They are empowered by this charitable giving, and this donation allows them to continue their education. When I entered the school’s kitchen, I was invited by the scent of food being prepared by the cooks.”
Furthermore, Bwire also cited the fact that the program has also saved the cooks livelihoods:
“The kitchen was in good condition, and the once-abandoned stoves were reactivated. The cooks were very happy to serve the food. They said they were previously worried about losing their jobs.”
The lunch menu changes daily and varies between the different schools. For example, on March 27th, the kids at His Grace Junior Schools ate fried rice, nuts, and silverfish. The children were beaming with happiness with many stating that they had consumed their best meal ever on that day. Many also said they ate twice that day, something which many kids in Uganda have never been lucky enough to do before.
In addition to this, many locals who have previously been excluded from traditional charity projects warmly welcomed this blockchain-powered feeding initiative. The schools purchased plates for the lunch program and invited many of the local community members to join in for a meal. School teachers were also encouraged through the program as the meals help students perform at their best as opposed to learning on empty stomachs. Due to food no longer being a concern for the communities, the locals have been empowered to further enhance their well being, whether it be by food or better grades or both.
The Crypto Community Actively In Support Of Blockchain For Social Good:
The powers that be at Binance have played witness to the power of goodwill, generosity and charity within the crypto space from the start. When the crypto exchange launched the Binance Charity Foundation last July 2018, TRON generously donated US$3 million to BCF, showing sincere support for the noble cause. Earlier this year in January, when Binance Charity announced the Binance Lunch for Children campaign, Zcoin pledged a full year of support to the pilot project at Jolly Mercy Learning Centre.
Justin Sun, founder of TRON and CEO of BitTorrent stated:
“Blockchain is all about helping make the world a better place, from the financial centres of the world to the underdeveloped regions of the world. TRON is supporting the lunch program at Best Quality School for a full year, using part of the US$3 million it made last year. Donating money to give kids a healthy, nutritious lunch is an ideal all in the industry should follow.”
Jimmy Chong, CEO of IOST who has pledged 10,000 BNB to BCF added:
“We are truly humbled and thankful for this opportunity to help children in Uganda and aid in meeting their daily nutrition needs together with Binance. IOST has consistently supported developments in the charity sector, like helping social enterprise Mantra to build a trustless and transparent donations tracking platform. We also support our node partners in various charitable initiatives, such as aiding the Venezuela crisis and donation drives in Canada. We will continue our mission to be a force for good, and hope more blockchain companies will join us in making this world a better place for all.”
IOST’s humble donation will go towards supporting four separate schools: Kitegoma C/U Primary School, Nakigo Secondary School, Rayyan Islamic Nursery and Primary School, and Rainward Kindergarten.
On Binance’s end, the global exchange has pledged to support one year’s lunches for the Kide Nursery and Primary School, totalling US$33,768, which started on March 25, 2019.
Furthermore, the execution of the Lunch For Children project has support from the Lunch for Children Foundation (LFC), which is a Kenyan non-profit entity, registered in Kenya for the sole purpose of providing charitable solutions to hunger, food security and poverty through the support of children in the building of a brighter future.
LFC co-founded the Lunch for Children program in partnership with Binance Charity. Both companies share a vision of pursuing a transparent and efficient donation model powered by blockchain technology. Notably, the year-long project doesn’t only support food donations but also monitors the improvement of children’s education. The project also oversees and tracks changes in attendance, enrollment, learning performance, and nutrition status, across all the school beneficiaries of the program under the watchful guise of the Ministry of Primary Education of Uganda.
If you’re interested in becoming a donor or learning more about BCF, visit www.binance.charity today and let’s help those in need by utilising the power of blockchain.
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