Aerial View of Aluva a region in Kochi Metropolitan Area of the Ernakulam district in Kerala, India.

Kerala Disaster Relief Initiative

Kerala is in the middle of a natural disaster after seeing pro-longed rains that are up 300% from normal levels. Over 30 dams in the state were opened at the same time and the region has been put on a red alert. Lakhs of individuals are currently being moved to camps located around the state. People have lost their lives, livelihood and the places they consider home. While the return to normal life in the state is a long process that will require the help of multiple stakeholders, we believe we can provide immediate assistance to accelerate recovery. Pocketbits, in collaboration with Indiabits is creating a channel for token holders to donate to the Chief Minister’s Relief Distress Fund in Kerala and transfer goods to non profits with on-the ground presence in Kerala. Blockchain enabled forms of currency (eg: Bitcoin) allow organisations to publish inflow and expenditure of donations. In addition, they enable cross-border remittances of funds at a drastically accelerated pace. The purpose of this initiative is to enable local and international donors to donate to the cause without having the hassle of converting to fiat locally.

Contribute at https://pocketbits.in/KeralaFloods

General FAQ

1. Who will be converting the tokens?
   We will be converting all tokens received to INR at PocketBits spot prices every few hours. ERC20 tokens not listed on PocketBits tokens may be moved to Binance for the purpose of conversion to BTC and sent to the BTC donation address. Pocketbits.in will be the sole custodian of tokens and will be responsible for conversions to INR
2. Why not donate directly in fiat?
   The purpose of the initiative is to create a bridge that facilitates token holders to donate to the cause.
   If you would like to donate Fiat or would like to purchase items directly via Amazon and deliver it to Goonj here are the relevant links:
   Goonj wishlist on Amazon
   Goonj donation page
   Goonj drop locations
   Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund
   UPI ID of Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund
   keralacmdrf@sbi
   keralacmdrf@sib
   Via Paytm — m.p-y.tm/Kerala-CMDRF
   @joeljohn will be responsible for the purchase of goods and delivery in Bangalore. You may reach out to him if you’d like to join in on the efforts
3. Why not only Bitcoin?
   While Bitcoin may be the currency that is used for some of the final conversion to fiat, we would like to be inclusive to communities working on different projects regardless of differences in ideology. Donations can be made in BTC/BCH/LTC/XRP/USDT/ETH & ERC20 Tokens.
4. Are international donations allowed?
   Yes, the purpose of the project is to allow individuals within India and abroad to make donations without the hassles of converting to local currencies
5. Can a receipt be made available?
   Due to shortage of time and resources (site was put up in 24 hours), we will not be able to issue receipts for individual transfers made. All transactions are recorded on the blockchain and will remain verifiable. We will, however be sharing invoices and receipts for all purchases, deliveries and transfers made in batches. A google sheet accounting for all transfers will be shared soon. In the future, PocketBits may facilitate the transfer of funds to disaster relief initiatives around the globe and issue receipts for the same.
6. How do I get in touch with you?
   @joel_john on Telegram will be leading the initiative in Bangalore
   @Sohail Merchant will be leading the initiative on behalf of PocketBits.
   Powered by @IndiaBits