All SBD from this post will be transferred directly to @rivendels. As you will read in her story, your 100 percent upvote could make a big difference in her life in a very practical way.

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Just after the latest Steemit hardfork, I read a post asking Steemians to visit #retovenezuela to show some support. I found several introduceyourself posts from Venezuelans and since my upvote had gone from 20 or 30 cents to a few bucks overnight, I was feeling like I could actually give someone an encouraging boost.

I decided to go back every day to upvote at least one post on that thread. Then I thought, rather than spread my vote out between a lot of people, perhaps I could have a greater impact by following and supporting one person in particular. A daily 100 percent upvote worth US$1 could potentially increase a Venezuelan’s income by as much as 50 percent.

After searching through the feed, I felt compelled to follow @rivendels. I guess it was her bright face and optimistic attitude that caught my attention. So with the help of Google Translate, we began connecting and commenting on one another’s posts.

In my latest Australian property market update, I was complaining about the degree to which home prices have inflated relative to people’s incomes and how unaffordable housing has become in Australia.

@rivendels stopped by to comment and offer a little perspective. She explained how she had started building a house in Venezuela in 2014, but because of excessive inflation, she had to stop building to focus on survival. She explained how her income in real terms has fallen by about 97 percent in three years.

It goes without saying, her comment made our economic problems here in Australia look like a walk in the park.

I wanted to know more of her story and what life is like for people in Venezuela. I also felt that others could benefit from hearing her story.

I hope that you will be inspired by this interview to not only show @rivendels your support by upvoting this post and following her, but perhaps also even find another Venezuelan Steemian to follow and support yourself.

In case you’re unaware of exactly what’s going on in Venezuela, here's a short helpful video:

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An Interview with @rivendels:

How would you describe life in Venezuela, before the economic problems?

Well, life before these economic problems… I think it was normal. You could go to the supermarket and easily find many different brands of foods. There was plenty of variety to buy.

Crime was only in certain communities declared red areas, but they were few. For example, on the island where I live, there were only two communities of this type.

We had national products and imported products, and at affordable prices. In my house, I could do the market shopping for the whole month, and we were a family of five people. I had money to go to the cinema, to go out with my friends, to study, and to pay for a taxi if necessary.

How would you describe life in Venezuela now, and how has life changed for you personally over the past few years?

Life in Venezuela is full of anguish! The life of the Venezuelan has become like a type of torture.

We now have a shortage of staple foods. Public transport is very poor, and very few are operating. The supply of spare parts, tires and batteries is almost zero. Used tires are bought at a high price and they can take days to find. This creates chaos in the mobilization of people and increases risks of traffic accidents.

My own car has been paralyzed for the last two years. There is no money available to repair it and even if I had the money, I wouldn’t be able to find the spare parts.

Political anger and intolerance is generating a lot of irritability and violence in people. I've seen people fight over a kilo of rice. In other places, people are being murdered and their food stolen.

We no longer have basic medicines. Public hospitals and private clinics lack the drugs to treat their many patients.

We have very little clean drinking water and electricity is very low voltage. This is damaging appliances and our telephones often fail due to a lack of maintenance on the lines.

Feelings of insecurity have increased to incredible levels.

And the list would be endless...

For me personally, my life has gone from stable to chaotic. I considered myself economically to be upper middle-class.

In 2010, I began to pursue a career in foreign trade, working for a successful import company. By the end of 2014, due to economic circumstances, the company had reduced its staff of almost 300 people to a basic team of 17 employees. They only kept managers, administrators and warehouse staff.

Like all young people, prior to this chaos, imagination flowed and optimism filled me. I was learning and maintaining my quality of life and economic independence through my own salary. I had a more or less adequate economic situation. But it lasted for only a short time.

Unfortunately, the government insists on taking over private companies and this has had terrible consequences.

For two years I was looking for work, and because of my experience and schooling, no one would hire me. They said, "You have a very good resume and experience, but we cannot pay someone like you; we’re looking for someone unprofessional."

Finally, in February 2017, I was able to get a new job. I entered my specialty, in the position of Import Analyst. I had to accept a minimum wage, consistent with people without experience or a university degree.

My job is full of challenges and demands. The dedication is permanent, even after I arrive home I have work to do: paperwork, foreign exchange, customs contracts. There is excessive corruption in the government to specify the permits and procedures. It is exhausting and stressful, but necessity compels me.

Many days there is no time for lunch. The environmental conditions of work are terrible: poor lighting, no bathrooms in the company (we must go to another building), and no air conditioning.

I work in this job because I need money to buy food and basic necessities. Even though I dedicate over twelve hours per day to this company, I still do not earn enough to afford to eat well.

My fitness routine, recreation, travel and enjoyment with friends, and even the simple purchase of clothes and cosmetics, has been reduced to almost nothing. But I find inner strength from the values ​​my family taught me.

Five months ago, I arrived at work earlier than normal. The business was still closed and two men on a motorcycle robbed me. Using a pistol, they managed to strip me of my mobile phone and the little money I had.

I called the authorities to report the robbery. The policeman who received the complaint said, "Oh yeah, that's a band that operates in the area; last week they did the same to another girl." I’ve still not heard anything of the case.

What is the greatest economic challenge that you and your family are now facing?

We must withstand the mental and physical demands of work on a daily basis, to earn just a little money, getting paid once every fifteen days just to buy food and pay the expenses of our home, medical needs and transportation.

You can’t afford to get sick with even the simplest flu. Drugs are not available, and if you can find them, they’re only available at excessive prices.

In short, I think the biggest challenge is food. In the year 2015, we passed a serious food situation, especially where I live on an island where we do not raise livestock and we plant very little food.

We could not get food and the only thing that was available at an affordable price was sardines, an extremely cheap fish here. This has led the majority of the population to a huge weight loss. We spent about a month or two eating sardines in all the recipes we could invent.

For example, my husband is 1.71 meters (5’ 6”) tall and his weight was approximately 75 kilos (165 pounds). He has lost so much weight that he is now down to 63 kilos (138 pounds). He has lost an incredible amount of muscle mass. This is just a single example; imagine people who have less money than us.

How have the economic challenges impacted the amount of your personal income?

As I said, my payment I receive from work is not enough to cover basic needs.

In 2014, I started building a home, investing $4400 US Dollars, which was equivalent to 44,000Bs (Venezuelan bolívar). My monthly salary was 12,000Bs, which was equivalent to $1200 US Dollars. After the excessive inflation began, I could not continue to build my house.

At the time of writing this (07/28/2017): $4,400 US Dollars is equivalent to 43,062,800Bs.

My current monthly salary is 383,000Bs which is equal to $39.13 US Dollars.

Continue building my house? Impossible.

The economic impact on me, I can say without exaggerating has been devastating.

What do you do to remain optimistic and joyful amidst such difficult circumstances?

I wake up each day with faith in myself and in my family. Because the current situation of the country makes everyone have an irritable mood, I try to be optimistic and transmit that to others. By doing this I think I improve the environment of other people and myself.

Besides that, as I do not go to restaurants like before, nor travel, I spend time with family and close friends, having meals together or doing anything that makes our lives more enjoyable.

Are you hopeful about the future of your country? What do you think most needs to change to help the people of Venezuela?

I do not lose hope that this situation is temporary and will change for the better. The waters will return to their channel and these trials will become "experiences of life."

Venezuela has a lot of potential. We have natural wealth and honest and enterprising people. Political stability is necessary so that private, national and foreign investment will return. In my opinion, the labor supply, the national production of the countryside and the manufacturing industry would be reactivated.

We also need to organize the oil production again. The current government has not been accountable for oil production.

How did you first hear about Steemit?

I first heard about Steemit from my husband. He has a brother who has been studying cryptocurrencies for some time, who shared about it with him.

After I was told, at first I was a little doubtful because I knew almost nothing of cryptocurrencies. But after visiting Steemit, I was struck by the quality of the content. And so I started posting.

What do you typically post about?

I am currently posting cooking recipes, trips and messages of optimism to motivate the good spirit and hopes of colleagues who read my posts. This has become my daily practice for staying optimistic and improving the lives of others.

My hope is that the people of my country would set aside the problems of the crisis that we are living through.

What does it mean to you to have a platform like Steemit where you can be paid to share your thoughts with the world?

It's beautiful and new to me.

I was accustomed to posting on other social networks, but without financial compensation. On Steemit, everything changes.

I believe that this platform has challenged me to improve the quality of my content as I’ve been able to connect with great people and learn from their posts. This platform helps to create a mutual respect with others and a very beneficial reading exchange.

What do you hope to accomplish through Steemit, both personally and financially?

I hope to grow much more, both personally and intellectually. I force myself to review grammar rules and editing guides. I study technology. I reinforce my emotional motivation so that I can communicate with 100 percent effectiveness.

Financially, I hope to create good content that is deserving of an adequate reward. This could help me to overcome our financial deficit that we are currently experiencing.

In the short and medium term, I am investing in my intellectual potential on this platform, with the hope that in time this could provide a new form of income.

What’s the most important thing that you want people to know and understand about your country?

I want people to know that Venezuelans and the foreigners who decided to come and live in Venezuela are good people. They are enthusiastic, hard-working, creative, optimistic, and they are fighters.

Venezuela is a natural paradise with many underground resources.

We are going through a social, economic and political crisis that is the result of the bad practices of recent governments.

We must learn from this situation that “it is not a better government that gives more, but one that generates sources of employment, health, education and that teaches people to make a living with honest and responsible work, not with populism."

The young people are the fundamental support of the future and we are willing to fight to see a better Venezuela.

We have big hearts.

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What did you find most impactful about @rivendels story?

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Jason Staggers