Paxful, a global peer-to-peer bitcoin marketplace, has broken ground for the fourth school in its 100-school initiative to bring quality education centres to emerging countries.
The fourth school, which will be located in the Ankara Nandu community of Sanga Local in Nigeria, will serve 100-120 children between the ages of 3 and 6 years. It will come fully equipped with a solar-powered and water well system. In response to safety requirements associated with COVID-19, Paxful will also provide Personal Protective Equipment for all teachers and students including facemasks and hand sanitizers.
“We chose this particular community because of the lack of necessary resources and limited school infrastructure,” says Ray Youssef, CEO, and co-founder of Paxful. “They are in dire need of quality learning spaces and this school is an honest representation of the impact bitcoin can have on societies as a whole, and more specifically, how it can enhance education.
The city is home to 4,000 people and presently has only one school which serves as both primary and secondary schools. The school will also double as an adult learning space in the evenings assisting in providing hundreds of people with a supplemental education.
Paxful’s #BuiltwithBitcoin initiative began in 2017 with partner ZamZam Water, a humanitarian organization devoted to eradicating poverty by providing clean, sustainable water and access to quality education to villages across the globe.
The initiative, whose primary goal is to promote philanthropy and charity within the cryptocurrency industry, now supports over 400 students. Through the 100-school plan, Paxful expects to bring education to nearly 15,000 young people throughout Africa while providing jobs to nearly 300 teachers.
Bitcoin in East Africa
The first two schools were built in Rwanda and the third school was built in Mukalala Village in Machakos County in Kenya earlier this year.
All schools come with water filtration systems, not just to supply the locals, but also to give them an opportunity to sell the water to their local community at a very affordable price. They are also equipped with solar panels to cut spends on electricity and bypass regular electricity cuts, making them more sustainable.
Paxful covers all fees associated with running a school including teacher and support staff salaries, bills for electricity and water as well as school supplies and uniforms for the students.
The first two schools were built in Rwanda and the third school in Kenya.
When COVID 19 started spreading in Africa in March, Paxful launched an Africa Fund for COVID-19 that aims to provide essential supplies such as food, hand sanitizers and other protective equipment. In Kenya, Paxful donated funds to Shining Hope for Communities (Shofco) to deliver essential services and protections that will help save lives among Kenya’s most vulnerable urban slum communities.
Donations are accepted on a rolling bases on builtwithbitcoin.org and will be used to aid in the completion of the school among additional #BuiltwithBitcoin initiatives including Paxful’s Africa Fund for COVID-19. Paxful will kick off donations for building the school in Nigeria with an initial injection of $35,000 of funds in BTC.
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