Why Steemit Could Be One of the Biggest Tools to Eliminating World Poverty

I try to avoid making bombastic statements, but I've been thinking a lot about Steemit and the opportunity that it could present to those that are not as fortunate and I think it finally dawned on me. 

Steemit could be an amazing tool for eliminating world poverty ...

Let that sink in for a second. The tool that we're using, every day, could be deployed in such a way that people who otherwise don't make a lot of money could be given an opportunity to achieve so much. 

Let me explain ...

As you can see in the above image, the vast majority of the world has a per capita income of less than $6,000 a year. Even large countries like Russia are operating where the majority of its people just don't have a lot of income coming in.

One country, in particular, that stands out to me is Afghanistan. Here's a second image that shows just how bad the per capita is for that country. 

I want you to look at that. The per capita was on the rise until the 1980s when the Soviet Union invaded and then the Taliban was in control from the early 1990s until 2001. Since then, the per capita has been on the rise in the country, though it has dipped the past few years. 

Can you imagine living on less than $600 per year? I think I might have spent $600 last month on takeout. :/

Anyway ... The reality is that the people just do not make a lot of money in Afghanistan. But that doesn't mean that they don't possess skills that the world economy might find interesting. 

For example, the The Digital Citizen Fund, formerly known as the Women's Annex Fund, is a group that "helps girls and women in developing countries gain access to technology, virtually connect with others around the world, and obtain necessary skills to succeed in today's expanding global market."

And it's already happening. Back in 2014, there was a story on the then Women's Annex Fund working with Afghani girls. Here are the problems that these girls had:

1. If they have cash, they run the risk of being attacked and stolen from
2. If they do get their cash home, their father, brother, or husband might take it, giving her no control of her hard work
3. If she can even spend it, she again runs the risk of it being stolen

Essentially, there was no way for the girl to do anything with her hard earned cash. But when bitcoin was integrated in this, suddenly these women had an opportunity to control their funds. 

With bitcoin, no one could know how much she had. That level of anonymity allowed the girl to save her money, accruing an account with more and more money. And it was working like crazy. At the time of the article being written, 2,000 users were being paid in bitcoin in Afghanistan. The average income was between $250 and $400 monthly. 

Now scroll up a little bit and look at how much the average person in Afghanistan makes. Around $600. A YEAR!!! So you have these women who are making $3,000 to $4,800 a year doing things like video production, coding, writing blog posts, social media, etc. That's a lot of money in a country like Afghanistan. 

And then it dawned on me ...

Imagine making $1,000 a Month

There are numerous users on this site that make $1,000 per piece. But if you work hard and continue to write, day in and day out, it's not unreasonable to expect that an average user could make $50-$100 per article. Do enough pieces and you'll be earning $1,000 a month. 

Now imagine if it was easy for these young people to come in, write their articles, and build up their livelihoods on Steemit. And I realized, it is that easy ...

There are three things that Steemit has to do to make this a reality:

1. Create an easy to use site that people can write about anything. Oh, wait ... That's already done! :)
2. Have a market whereby people can exchange their SBD for BTC, which can be used for everyday things. Oh, wait ... At $220,000,000, there's plenty of volume for people to convert. 
3. Let them know it exists!

It's #3 that is going to be the hardest part of this whole process. In countries that lack the infrastructure that the first world has, marketing is really difficult. But if we can somehow let people in these underdeveloped countries know about Steemit, imagine what sort of an impact that would have on the world economy!

Here are more per capitas by country:

• Somalia: $400
• Central African Republic: $600
• Burundi: $800
• The Democratic Republic of the Congo: $800
• Liberia: $900
• Tokelau: $1,000
• Malawi: $1,100
• Niger: $1,100
• Guinea: $1,200

That's 143 million people in those countries. Imagine if, instead of $400 per person in Somalia, it was $1,000 per month. What would that do to the country? 

As someone in the first world, the potential for this is exciting! As these people earn more money, they push more money into the global economy, which makes more money for everyone. Perhaps if I ever launch a business, I will be a recipient of some of the money that flows through this economic growth. 

It'll take time ...

I'm not saying that Steemit is the end all be all by any stretch of the imagination. But the reality is that people are earning really good money on this site. And as more people earn money, the income becomes more diversified. While I love the idea of buying more books and paying down debt with my SBD, you have to ask yourself: what good could come from this site?

And I think it's a lot ...

So I want to thank @ned and @dan for creating Steemit. And for any other members who have been an active part of increasing awareness. You are creating an environment where people that have been disenfranchised and not given a chance in the world economy now have one. That should be commended. 

And to the rest of the Steemit community. Let's do everything we can to welcome as many new members to this site! The potential is really there to make a difference in the world. One step at a time, the Steemit community can help eradicate world poverty.