if you can dream it, you can do it!

Let me share some great news on the No Mountain Too High project…

I’m proud to announce that since the day TWEAK IT! was launched in late November 2010, we have earned about €85,000 (net!) for VANAKAM. This 85,000€ will be entirely used for the further expansion of the VANAKAM project in Uthani (www.vanakam.be ).

Some of you have been part of this ride by writing, others by buying and still some others by their enthusiasm in spreading the word about TWEAK IT!; but without any doubt whatever your contribution has been, you have made a difference for the people in the area of Uthani!

Yesterday I agreed with Christophe and Sam, the founders of VANAKAM, on the following allocations of the €85,000:

(1) Installation of the Solar Panels: (38,000€.)
The funding and the installation of the solar panels was the ultimate goal for this project. A dream becoming reality! Actually next week, we will sign a contract with M/s Star Epsel India PVT LTD for the installation of the solar panels on site. The price for the panels and the installation is about + €50,000 (Rs. 31,000,000). However, 12,000€ will be financed through a project subsidy!

(2) The remaining €47,000 will be allocated as follows:

Ø € 20,000 will be used for the building of a sewing workshop on the site in Uthani. In the workshop some of the grown-up children from the orphanage will learn to professionally sew. We hope that overtime the sewing workshop becomes a commercial sewing workshop/atelier which would make the project even more financially autonomous. This building including the purchase of sewing machines is budgeted for € 60,000. From the No Mountain Too High proceeds we will finance a third of it.

Ø We will also donate €6,000 to two other independent projects:

Ø Supporting the project of Jelle Rigole in Kerala (€3,000). He is organizing surfing classes for street children. The kids can go for free to the surf school in the weekend under the condition they go to school during the week. The project seems to be a great success.

Ø Buying football shirts and footballs for the boys’ orphanage in Kavan (Kerala) and finance one year their rise supply (€3,000). During my trip in India we visited this boy’s orphanage as well and it was shocking to see kids play football without a ball…


Ø We also agreed that VANAKAM will create a financial reserve in Belgium to overcome potential future funding issues. No Mountain Too High will contribute €21,000 to this reserve. The cash will be deposited on a bank account and will serve to bridge difficult periods.


But there is still some other good news … we still have about 2,000 books to sell which means that there is a potential for another 40,000€!!! All cost have been paid which means that every 20€ earned per book goes straight to the project! So please keep spreading the word and help selling TWEAK IT!


So again, thanks for all the support! Feel free to share this mail with people that might be interested in the project or that got the book from you!


I will send another up-date with pictures as soon as the solar panels have been installed.


Namaste!


Wim