Bitcoin to Fight Ebola

An alliance of local African free-market pioneers that formed to promote bitcoin’s economic benefits has put its campaign on hold to join the fight against Ebola, the virus currently ravaging parts of West Africa.
The Sierra Leone Liberty Group (SLLG) is seeking to raise donations via bitcoin as a demonstration of the digital currency’s efficiency. In doing so, the group hopes to show how a grassroots organization can start to build a bitcoin ecosystem with limited resources.
The world’s worst-ever outbreak of Ebola began to spread through Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia in March of this year, and has since caused over 1,400 deaths, according to The Guardian.
All three countries are currently under a state of emergency with closed borders, major events canceled and whole regions quarantined. Treatments for Ebola are still experimental and none are in widespread use, so prevention is the only option available.
The situation highlights the very real problems Africa must confront before it can be concerned with issues like new forms of currency and even economic policy.

Local struggle, global appeal

In the face of the outbreak, the SLLG and its friends have turned their immediate attention to containing Ebola’s spread.
The group is asking for bitcoin donations from around the world to get funds directly to workers on the ground who need to buy supplies that include chlorine, cleaning equipment and protective gear such as rubber gloves, goggles and masks.
SLLG’s founder, Mustapha Cole, told CoinDesk of the difficulties confronting him and his fellow Sierra Leoneans:

“It is very hard to live in a society that [has] such a deadly virus [...] especially when many of the renowned doctors in the country are also victims of the virus.”

Another SLLG spokesperson added that the sheer number of people who have died so far has led to extreme measures. Once an Ebola case is identified in a certain area, the entire area may be quarantined from two to 20 days. No-one may enter or leave, with locals depending on the government to provide food supplies.
Therefore it is imperative to contain Ebola’s spread by educating local townspeople on proper preventative methods and provide the necessary supplies to do so. This is SLLG’s key task.

Current bitcoin mission

The organization’s Facebook page shows pictures of the group distributing soap, disinfectant, and engaging in educational campaigns to teach people in small villages how to prevent infection.
SLLG’s donation drive joins other current campaigns to help stop Ebola and demonstrate bitcoin’s speed and efficiency at gathering funds in small amounts from around the world.
However, Sierra Leone’s current means of converting bitcoin into local currency and physical goods remain limited. SLLG’s American mentor, the writer and economist Dan McLaughlin, will receive and convert the bitcoins before wiring the funds to Sierra Leone via bank transfer.


Read more at:

http://www.coindesk.com/sierra-leone-group-diverts-bitcoin-campaign-fight-ebola/