When the canoe meets the paintbrush, how the InitVerse Benin Public Welfare Action connects the future with Web3.

In the lakeside village of Ganvié, known as the "Venice of Africa" in southern Benin, residents live year-round in stilt houses on the water, and children paddle canoes daily through the water channels to Dogodo Primary School. This floating village is very beautiful, but this living environment is also accompanied by real dilemmas, such as rudimentary transportation, lack of infrastructure, deteriorating natural environment, and scarce educational resources, especially with multiple challenges facing the survival and growth environment of children.

On May 28, 2025, the InitVerse team, in collaboration with the local Lion charity organization in Benin, Africa, brought the hope of Web3 to this land crisscrossed by waterways, launching a charity event titled "From Waterways to Classroom: Illuminating the Future of Children in Benin." InitVerse firmly believes that the value of technology lies not only in technological breakthroughs but also in serving the broader real-world needs globally. After communicating with the responsible teacher at the local Dogodo Primary School, this event provided tangible help and hope to over 120 teachers and students. We hope to showcase the responsibility of Web3 projects in social responsibility through a concrete action and also convey to the local friends the project concept of InitVerse that "Web3 serves real needs." Below is a genuine review of the event:

The morning sunlight spilled over the lake, as a small boat carrying backpacks, dictionaries, sketchbooks, ballpoint pens, and colored crayons arrived at school. We are well aware that in areas where drinking water still needs to be fetched with buckets, educational supplies must be practical. We selected water-resistant notebooks to cope with the humid environment of classrooms during the rainy season; waterproof backpacks can prevent students from getting their stationery wet on the way to school, and eco-friendly paintbrushes can help mitigate the potential for water source pollution to some extent. The genuine joy and curiosity reflected in the children's eyes as they received the gifts were heartwarming. When 9-year-old Aïcha tightly gripped her own colored paintbrush and painted bright patterns on the paper, we captured the sparkle in her eyes, which embodies the most original form of the Web3 spirit: providing every individual with the tools to create value.

Painting is one of the important parts of this event. Before we came here, we invited two local artists to act as mentors. The children created works around the three major themes of "My Village," "Dream School," and "Future Me." They depicted their imaginations and hopes for the future with tender yet sincere strokes. A little boy named Kossi painted a colorful classroom floating on water, saying he hopes to attend class without fear of flooding in the future. Another boy, Django, painted a sci-fi speedboat, stating that he wants to take this boat to school because it is fast and cool. These "special artworks" that carry the pure hopes of children, along with the local cultural style, are about to embark on a digital rebirth through InitVerse's INIChain network.

In order to maximize the preservation of the original appearance of these artworks, the photographer followed the process closely and archived each artwork separately. The InitVerse team will subsequently select works among them to design and produce public welfare-themed NFTs, which will be sold on the NFT platform. This is not only an attempt at digital assets but also a real pilot of the public welfare + NFT model. The proceeds from NFT sales will be transparently announced and donated back to the school for classroom repairs or to support teachers' teaching resources, achieving a sustainable cycle of goodwill on the blockchain. "We are not just simple philanthropists, but a bridge for value discovery," explained InitVerse representative Linoel to the teachers. "When Aïcha's artwork is sold as an NFT in the InitVerse NFT market, what he gains is not only public welfare funds but also global attention to the Ganvié region."

During the event, we also organized several interactive segments to help children gain knowledge and joy through games. In the game segment, accompanied by local traditional drumbeats, the children formed a circle and sang folk songs together with enthusiasm, and we were also inspired to dance along with them, which was very fun. Linoel, representing InitVerse, described to the children what "Web3" is, and how our world and future lives will be positively transformed by Web3. We also organized interesting challenges that combined some Web3 trivia, mathematics, and language elements, stimulating the children's enthusiasm for participation through competition. The winners received snacks and toys as encouragement.

"This is not only public welfare + NFT, but also a planting of the Web3 spirit on water." The CBO of InitVerse emphasized in the project summary, "When traditional public welfare is limited by geography and processes, blockchain technology allows the creativity of Beninese children to directly communicate with global supporters, which is exactly the original intention of creating InitVerse."

As the event comes to a close, the children hold paddles painted with the InitVerse symbol for a group photo, each child's expression uniquely different, fully showcasing their innocence in front of the camera. This charity event is an important step in our exploration of NFT applications. Using artworks as a medium, we integrate the educational and charitable needs of the real world, leveraging NFTs as a native Web3 tool, allowing our charitable actions to possess traceable, shareable, and renewable on-chain characteristics, paving the way for the introduction of a "value-driven + social significance" NFT model in the future

We hope to improve the living environment in Ganvié with material support, while allowing digital assets to develop in a more valuable direction. As the global market gradually expands, we believe that such warm and valuable attempts can encourage more community users to participate in discussions and co-creation. We hope to inscribe this goodwill into the blockchain and spread it across the globe.