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I've just received a grant of $25,000 USD (in Bitcoin) to work alongside the Human Rights Foundation educating political dissidents around how to use BTC. I'm very humbled and excited. Rather than focus on me for this post though, I want to take you on a journey regarding one of the stories I've witnessed at the Oslo Freedom Forum that has had the most impact on me. In Oslo 2022, I watched a woman take the stage and talk about her activist husband who had been abducted and imprisoned in Nicaragua, leaving their daughter fatherless, as they had no contact with him at all. I also met a wonderful woman learning about Bitcoin wallets for the first time, as a way to fundraise and get money into countries where dissident bank accounts would be shut down. A year later I returned to Oslo and learned two things. 1. The woman I spoke with/coached and the woman onstage were the same person. Her name is Berta Maradiaga. 2. Due to the efforts of the HRF her husband Felix had been freed and returned to them for the first time in 3 years. They even showed a video of his daughter's tearful first reunion. I encourage you to watch all 3 videos here. It is a harrowing story and it emotionally broke me watching it play out in real time. I got to spend a bunch of time with Berta recently at Bitcoin Park in Nashville, and she continues to learn about BTC and how it can be used to further their cause. She is wonderful. Grab your tissues. Felix In Oslo 2019 (Before being imprisoned) Berta in Oslo 2022 (Pleading for help to release her husband) Felix Returning To Oslo 2023 (after his release and reunion)

Replies (37)

Dear Ben...you're such a great person. The way you get inspired from others, the same we get inspired from you. Everything is about freedom and self sovereignty. I am glad that we met once, hope you and the family keep being healthy & happy. And of course I hope to meet you again!
I have some gringo friends that are plugged in pretty deep with Nicaraguan dissident community. This is there good friend I’ve had dinner with a few times:
the Guardian
Meet the musician singing against Nicaragua’s ‘apocalyptic’ regime
Luis Enrique Mejía Godoy once sang odes to the Sandinista rebels but now laments Daniel Ortega’s authoritarian rule
 They also have a friend who is a journalist who had to flee the country who last I check led was living on their property. Lmk if you’re interested in me connecting you all, as I think Nicaragua would be a great place that you partially could leverage a lot of good for them.
Thank you for sharing, Ben. Will watch all of these. My aunt worked with the most vulnerable part of the population in Nicaragua for decades, and she’s been appalled at what’s currently going on there, especially with the president of the country being the former head of the Sandinistas, a group that once did some good there. Ortega is proof that absolute power corrupts absolutely and what we’re seeing in Nicaragua today is proof of this. Good on you for helping someone in need there see and use the new way forward that is #bitcoin