This is part of our ‘Resources’ charity program. Rebaone Nkuyagae is only 8 years old. He has a terminal disease of the most aggressive kind: Aplastic Anaemia.

 His blood has stopped producing red and white blood cells. He can’t be cured. To add insult to injury, there is no treatment available in his town. Rebaone lives with his single mother. She lost her job, they have no income. They can barely afford to catch public transport the 200km each fortnight for his treatment. Doctors are trying to keep him stable, while they pray for a suitable bone marrow donor.

Mother of four and “animal warrior” Suzette Kotze is a local animal inspector and SPCA head.

 Aware of ICE Cubed and our local community work she made a direct appeal. Help the SPCA and donate Bitcoin.

 “Today I want to ask you on my knees, beg you actually…we are in urgent need of funds, otherwise we might close down,
PLEASE !!!! What will happen to our animals if we are not here anymore…I am the only hope our animals have.”

 In her small town there are at least 21 extreme animal abuse cases each month.
The images received with her plea were truly horrific. Something had to be done.

 
    Florence was admitted as an inpatient to Chanyanya Rural Health Clinic in very poor health, with swelling on her face and neck. She had recently been diagnosed as HIV positive and so had only been taking antiretroviral medication for two weeks. Clinic staff were not sure whether her worsening symptoms were a reaction to the ARV drug or Herpes Zoster virus. With the help of an infectious disease specialist at New York University Teaching Hospital, the correct medication was prescribed, and Florence recovered and was able to leave the clinic a few days later. This is just one example of how powerful it can be when rural clinics are given direct access to medical expertise.
 
This is a case study of a patient successfully treated by the Virtual Doctor Project (VDP). This project, which only began operating earlier this year, has the goal of using teleconferencing technology to bring the expertise of doctors from around the world to remote areas of Africa, where it is sorely needed. Florence’s story highlights that need. Without the expertise of the doctor, it is less likely that she would have been able to get the help that she needed.

This is the year that bitcoin will really take off for lovers of fluorescent paint, camping in a field with thousands of smiling people dressed like Mad Max extras, and dancing until the sun comes up.

Festival organizers around the world are seeing that there is a demand for events to accept bitcoin as payments and, in 2014, they are starting to respond. 

Here are six of the best festivals announced so far that will let you pay in bitcoin for your tickets.