Op de affiche alle clubs die deelnemen ... dit jaar 18 ... volgend jaar mikken we naar 32 of meer! 


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 Bedankt aan allen voor de fantastische tennismiddag en de steun aan Vanakam!

Beste Tennisvrienden, Op zaterdag 23 juni organiseren we één van de voorrondes van de VANAKAM TROPHY op TC NOBEL. Vanakam is een erkende Belgische VZW die via de bouw en beheer van een weeshuis, ziekenhuis en werkateliers weeskinderen in Zuid-India een toekomst geeft. Samen met Dominique Monami, meter van Vanakam, zijn wij op het idee gekomen om een “groot tennistornooi” over gans België op poten te zetten, de “Vanakam Trophy”. Een tornooi waarvoor we, over een aantal maanden verspreid, duizenden participanten over een 20-tal clubs samenbrengen. Dit is een bijzondere uitdaging die wij niet alleen kunnen aangaan. Daarvoor hebben wij iedereen nodig!! Ook TC NOBEL doet mee! Hoe zal de Trophy verlopen? 16 koppels zullen opgedeeld worden in 4 poules en zullen elk drie matchen spelen naar twee winnende tiebreaks tot 10 (tornooi start om 13:00 uur). De winnaar van elke poule speelt de halve finale (18.00 uur) om uiteindelijk tot een finale (19:00 uur) te komen. De winnaar van het TC NOBEL tornooi speelt de eindronde in september tegen de 20 andere winnaars van gelijkaardige tornooien die georganiseerd worden in de 20 andere clubs. De winnaar van dit eindtornooi zal de mogelijkheid hebben om te dubbelen tegen Dominique Monami en Els Callens ... We zoeken 16 koppels ... we maken geen onderscheid per klassement, nog man/vrouw, je moet ook geen lid zijn van TC NOBEL ... maw alles door elkaar voor de leute en uiteraard voor de eer ... Na de finale sluiten we af met een BBQ! Deelname aan het tornooi kost 40 EURO per persoon maar in ruil krijg je een fiscaal attest, gratis BBQ (met uitzondering van drank) en een special edition T-Shirt! De volledige opbrengst gaat naar de stichting VANAKAM (www.vanakam.be). Christophe Lambert, stichter van VANAKAM, zal tijdens de BBQ kort zijn projecten voorstellen. Hoe schrijf je in? Stuur een mail naar wuytsw@yahoo.com. Vind je geen partner dan zoeken wij er wel één … Hopelijk tot op Central Court! Wim

Vanakam Tennis Trophy (TC NOBEL - Aalter)

Op zaterdag 23 juni (vanaf 1 uur) wordt de eerste Vanakam Trophy gespeeld op TC NOBEL (voorronde voor de Vanakam Trophy). 16 koppels zullen "strijden" voor de TC NOBEL Vanakam Trophy. Iedereen speelt minstens drie keer. Je hoeft geen lid te zijn van TC NOBEL om deel te nemen. Volledig tornooi wordt op één dag gespeeld. Inschrijving: 40 EURO pp (fiscaal attest plus gratis BBQ). Volledige opbrengst voor www.vanakam.be! Hoe inschrijven? mail, bel of sms mij Meer info volgt. Dream & Do, there is no mountain too high! Wim

SIOEN & Friends

Vanakam vzw organiseert, in samenwerking met 'Kabron Records', exclusief:

SIOEN & Friends

Ruim 10 jaar na zijn debuut brengt SIOEN zijn vijfde album uit. ‘SIOEN.’ wordt heel goed onthaald en er wacht hem een drukke periode van festivals gevolgd door een theatertournee. Toch neemt hij graag nog de tijd om speciaal voor Vanakam vzw een uniek spektakel op te zetten in de Opera in Gent. Samen met een aantal gastmuzikanten zal hij voor jullie een verrassend, intiem en heel bijzonder concert spelen. Vlug bestellen is dus de boodschap want we hebben ‘slechts’ 600 gasten die we gelukkig kunnen maken!!!

PRAKTISCH:

- Woensdag 6 en zaterdag 9 juni 2012, aanvang telkens om 19u30
- Waar: Lullyzaal, Vlaamse Opera Gent, Schouwburgstraat 3, 9000 Gent
- Tickets: 50€ (inclusief receptie)
- Bestellen via info@vanakam.be

The Kovalam Surfclub - another fantastic initiative

The Kovalam Surfclub is located in Kovalam, India and was founded in 2005 as a part of the bigger NGO SISP. SISP is active in the area since 1996 and tries to improve the harsh living conditions of the poorest by offering them free education, medical care, food support, old age care, micro credit unions, literacy classes, training and work in handicraft units,...

The idea behind the Kovalam Surfclub was to get the children of SISP off the streets outside of the school hours and to act as an extra motivation to keep these kids going to school on a regular basis. The main rule to participate in the surf classes is: 'No school—No surfing'!
The Kovalam Surfclub started off with 3 old boards and 5 to 10 kids, eager to become good surfers. The beginning was hard, as the kids weren’t used to take care of the equipment, especially if it has a certain value. So every week there were boards to be fixed, but the children learned how to repair the boards themselves and figured out it was hard work, so they became more careful.
But the tourism police and lifeguards were for sure the biggest problem. Because the only life these children know, is a life packed with violence and misery, so they acted like products of their society. These children weren’t welcome on a beach that is reserved for tourists, well protected from the dark side of India. The surf groms had to learn to behave in what we call a 'civilised' way, in order not to get sent away by the authorities.

Today, the Kovalam Surf Club has around 20 members and is a registered sports club, becoming the first official surfclub in India. Foreign tourists as well as locals are impressed by the surf skills of the local surfers and are really stoked on riding the waves as well. The demand for surf lessons has never been so big. Some of the older boys will soon be able to make a proper living out of surfing, by offering surf lessons, guided surf tours, board rental and ding repair. Varghese, who was my first Indian surf student, is now already making a living by working for ‘Soul and Surf’, an organisation that provides surf lessons and takes tourists on guided surf tours.

Thanks to our sponsors and befriended surfers we now have a surfboard for every child and an appropriate surfing outfit. The children have their own clubhouse, where we keep our equipment and slip into our surf shorts.
The local authorities now know the surfing children and respect them, as long as they behave appropriate, which they have learnt to do. The key point is that all the surfing kids are regular at our school and therefore will get a better chance in succeeding in life in a more humane way. But surfing also makes them proud and happy because for the first time in their life they get respect and attention for being good at something.

How to help?

The social aspect of SISP costs money to keep on going, so funds are always welcome for our daily expenses.
Lately we have been focussing more and more on social employment. We try to create jobs for unemployed youngsters and women from impoverished backgrounds who have had little or no schooling. By the summer of 2012 our new employment units will be operational and funds will be needed to start these new projects up. More info on this will follow soon.
Some of the older surfers show great interest in making a living in the surfing industry by offering surf lessons, guided surf tours, board rental and ding repair. To start this up we need appropriate beginner boards, a certified instructor to professionally train the local instructors, a professional website, logo, customised rash vests for instructors and their students,...


JELLE RIGOLE


If u think u can help us in any way, be it financial or with logistics, contacts or appropriate surf equipment, don’t hesitate and contact
Jelle.rigole@gmail.com
Or surf to
http://www.sisp.be/English/support.html





Thanx to
O'neill
All surfers over the years who donated their boards and goodies...
The photographers for letting me us their pictures to promote SISP and the Kovalam Surf Club
All of you who have contributed to SISP over the years and helped us in the struggle for a more honest world...

More info
www.sisp.be
http://vimeo.com/14209021
jelle.rigole@gmail.com

TWEAK IT! keeps rolling ...

I copy a mail from a Belgian Multinational on the No Mountain Too High story (the 99 books were gone in 2 days ...)


Dear Colleague,

Last year the remarkable book ‘Tweak it’ was written. It’s a book about getting the right people together, about connecting people, about dreaming of a better world, but it’s also a book that wants to give a better future to the villages surrounding Uthani, in Tamil Nadu (South India).

By selling this book the authors wanted to raise more than €100,000 to finance at least the solar panels of a new field hospital in Uthani (India). In MNC we were prepared to take 99 copies of the book to support this initiative. The book has many similarities with how MNC sees business in today’s world, namely as an integral part of the local communities in which we are embedded.

Next to these exciting objectives, the content of the book refers to a key topic in our current business: the motivation and skills of our people. The book brings a compilation of articles with insights and tools on how to coach our employees and even more important on how to release the strengths and qualities in each of us.

If this book might be interesting for you or for your team, please send a message to Jan and you will receive a copy. Only 99 copies, thus first come first serve!

We would like to finish this letter with a quote of Marc Twain to be found in the book:

“‘Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by things that you didn’t do, than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour, catch the trade wind in your sails. Explore – Discover – Dream.”

Kind regards,

TWEAK IT!

TWEAK IT! is almost sold out!

More than 8,000 copies have been sold!

We are looking for volunteers who want to organize a (small) event to sell a few!

There is no mountain too high!

Wim