UNICEF to Launch Ethereum Mining Project to Aid Syrian Children

During the last couple of months, non-profit organizations and charity agencies have been looking for ways to leverage blockchain technology, in order to increase the impact of their charitable efforts. Now, recent reports indicate that the UN children’s agency, commonly known as UNICEF, has launched a project that will use Ethereum in order to raise money that will then aid Syrian children in need.

This project is part of a mass effort by UN agencies to utilize blockchain technology to change how organizations raise money, but also to further increase the transparency associated with financial transactions being carried out. The UNICEF Game Changers project will recruit games and use the processing power of their computers to mine Ethereum, which will then go directly to Syrian children via the UNICEF help programs carried out in the region.

So far, the project is still in its infancy, considering the fact that it has managed to raise a little over 1,000 EUR so far. However, if the project ends up being successful, chances are that UNICEF will use the technology to do a lot more. Some of the other potential use cases associated with it include creating online identities for refugees, but also reconciling health and education efforts.

Ethereum has been chosen as the digital currency of choice, given the fact that it allows and facilitates the use of smart contracts. In return, this can increase transparency, lower costs, and reduce manpower needed to make financial transactions.

It is important to point out the fact that in the past, the World Food Programme, known as the WFP, has used Ethereum to deliver food vouchers worth $1.4 million, by using iris recognition technology in camp supermarkets. This has helped over 10,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan, and it is expected that the project will be expanded to other regions as well.

In a recent press statement, Rhodri Davies, the head of policy at the Charities Aid Foundation has mentioned that: “Everyone is really enthusiastic, but we won’t see it really take off until one of the big agencies turns its pilot scheme into full-scale implementation. I think that’s where you will start seeing a large difference.”

Therefore, beneficiaries will likely not notice a difference in terms of the amount they receive, yet the project will allow organizations to make savings by no longer having to pay middlemen. In the long run, this will result in higher portions for those in need.