@ramonoropeza 20 November 2025

Keep the fire burning: What have I done and what am I doing to survive? When I started writing for YOURS, I wrote about my cooking classes and cooking articles. At the end of each article, I made a point of mentioning that every tip helped me pay for classes. I received moderate support on YOURS and Honest Cash. I paid for my cooking classes by writing on Steemit. There was also a "faucet" project on DASH that allowed me to earn some extra money back then. I also worked weekends at a street food stall called "El Fogonero." All of this allowed me to have a somewhat decent income, at least enough to pay for my studies and buy food for the family. Not enough to buy shoes, go to the movies, or eat out. Just enough to survive. In fact, I couldn't finish my culinary studies because there were days when I couldn't afford the ingredients for some classes or pay for some of them. In the end, I couldn't get my Chef's Certificate, despite being one of the few in my class who actually worked in a real kitchen. Then, there was a time when there was no internet in my neighborhood, and I had to go out and look for work. I achieved it very quickly, thank God. I even had two jobs: from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM at a fried chicken and Chinese food stand, then from 6:00 PM to midnight or 1:00 AM at a street food stand. Between those two jobs, I only earned $40 a month. Wages were very precarious back then. That's why many people decided to emigrate to other countries; here it was impossible to even access the most basic things like clothes or a decent phone. Just surviving. I'm explaining all this because I've constantly been attacked and labeled a beggar or a vagrant. And although I don't take it personally because I understand that there are many people like that in the digital world, it's not my case. I started the bakery with $10. But how with $10? With a lot of effort, I managed to take an affordable baking course on Saturdays. When I finished, I bought the ingredients for a sample batch of sweet breads. That day, full of excitement, I made my first loaves of bread in my home oven. The loaves turned out awful; there was some mistake in the mix, and they tasted strongly of powdered milk. Although they rose, they quickly went stale. Haha, it was a nightmare; I wanted to cry because it was the last $10 I had left. But this led me to tell my friends, and one friend was encouraged and believed in me because I explained very well how bread was made and how scientific baking is. I caught her enthusiasm, and she suggested I start my first bakery. She borrowed an oven, made from an old refrigerator, and a borrowed gas cylinder. By the time she got that, I had saved a little more, and together we bought our first supplies. The pandemic was just beginning, and people couldn't leave their homes or were afraid, so it was a good opportunity and time to start. During this time, I was always promoting support for creating an SLP token to encourage the use of the BCH network. Of course, the idea was to contribute to the adoption of Bitcoin Cash and, consequently, get support for my bakery. Then, as many of you already know, I managed to get some help to buy a bakery oven, and simultaneously, I received a Uniswap airdrop, which allowed me to buy a refrigerator after not having one for five years. I was also playing and earning some extra money with various NFT games: Axies, Plants, and so on. Even with all this, my financial situation wasn't the best, but I wasn't as broke as when I worked in the kitchen. Now I could save up to buy a pair of shoes or treat myself once in a while. However, the thought of my mother getting sick, or myself getting sick, or some other unexpected event, is something that can quickly eat away at your mind. Finally, someone contacted me to create a business based on my bakery. I really thought about it a lot at the time, afraid of losing everything or that things wouldn't work out. I thought that way because it would no longer be under my control, but rather with someone else. Unfortunately, it happened. The business didn't go well, and since then I've had a very rough patch. I've been through so many things that I was even arrested for a traffic accident, and I've been extorted. And the worst and most demoralizing thing is that I've practically lost everything I had somehow managed to achieve. **Now, how do I live or survive?** First and foremost, by the will of God. Thank you for being my strength in the most difficult and lonely moments. For giving me opportunities to grow and for giving me health. Currently, I have three jobs that I'm committed to. 1. Sending and receiving remittances between Argentina and Venezuela through Binance, in coordination with a cousin who emigrated to Buenos Aires. The monthly income varies from $50 to $80.

2. Social media designer and community manager for my friend, the real estate agent. Monthly income: none. It all depends on property sales. The agreement is 20% commission. But this year he's only sold one apartment near mine. I earned $150. That was in June. And I spent it on my mortgage.

3. Municipal Communications Coordinator for La Misión Ribas. I accepted this job last month. Here, I'm basically the one who communicates information for the municipality and also does various communication tasks. La Misión Ribas is a foundation that aims to help people who couldn't graduate high school during their adolescence to do so. It's a government social program, established 22 years ago. I only go to this job three times a week; it's not very demanding and allows me to take on other "occasional jobs." I even almost always have my own desk. Here, the salary is $120 per month; however, this amount is calculated at the official exchange rate, so at market prices it would be around $90. Interestingly, the first month has already passed, and I still haven't been paid. I'm somewhat hesitant to continue here because of this delay. My boss says it's typical the first time. This can happen because it's a centralized system managed from the capital.

4. Most of my income comes from odd jobs: painting houses, moving, really anything I can do. With all this, I'd say my monthly income so far is between $150 and $200. My mother's medicine alone costs $100 per month. Apartment utilities cost $80. Food costs at least $200. I currently have debts with several household services because I prioritize my mother's food and medicine over utilities, even though they are also essential. With all this, I want to express and make it clear that I try every day. I've tried for years. And despite all the attempts, nothing seems to work. It's hard not to lose hope like this. In my previous article, I talked about learned helplessness, and by writing this one, I think I'm presenting more reasons that validate this national trauma. However, I've seen how it's possible to get ahead through the internet. My goal has been to obtain a stable income working remotely. Before my computer broke down, my goal was to get a remote job and promote my Cryptobakery project for Bitcoin Cash. But I not only lost my computer, I've also gone through periods without internet because I can't afford it. I'm writing from my phone, which is also becoming obsolete with constant updates. This, beyond the frustration it generates, also gives me the strength and will to ask for your support, not only to get ahead but also to contribute to the Bitcoin Cash community, which has helped so much and provides everyone with tools to share and grow. I'm ending this article by asking for your sincere and honest support. With my hand on my heart, I want to get ahead and improve my life and my family's. Today, my mother needs two surgeries, one on each eye, because she has cataracts due to her age, and her vision has been deteriorating rapidly. However, I don't intend to use this as an excuse to create a fundraising campaign to cover this emergency. Instead, I'm looking to solve the problem at its root and generate enough to cover my mother's expenses so I can live with dignity through my work. If you can truly support me and believe my project can contribute to Bitcoin Cash, I would be very grateful. Here are the links for the Cryptobakery project: Cryptobakery Project https://read.cash/@ramonoropeza/cryptobakery-simple-bch-in-spanish-and-for-everyone-support-me-to-get-it-fundaraising-acbb0ae1 Previous articles: Learned helplessness: a life without expectations https://read.cash/@ramonoropeza/learned-helplessness-a-life-without-expectations-ebc299e4 A Commitment to Life, Recovery, and Adoption of BCH https://read.cash/@ramonoropeza/a-commitment-to-life-recovery-and-adoption-of-bch-9a816dbc Declaration of Honesty: A Commitment to Life, Dreams, and BCH. https://read.cash/@ramonoropeza/declaration-of-honesty-a-commitment-to-life-dreams-and-bch-6e02ac66