$300,000: together with 35,000 Haitians we say: THANK YOU!
pls read below for an awesome pledge change...
It's hard to believe we only launched our campaign 3 weeks ago on 12-12-12 ... We hoped we would be more succesful than last year, having learned a few lessons. We started better prepared. But this ... is really, truly AMAZING!! You know, people tend to look at numbers, three hundred thousands us dollar sounds like an incredible amount of money. And it is. But 4324 backers, that is really so cool! you are with so many! I can hardly believe I am writing to so many fans, backers and friends at the same time. But let's look at an even more impressive number...
35,000 Haitians
Yes... that is the number of people YOU are helping through this campaign after merely 3 weeks. For each WakaWaka Power you pledge, we provide 1 WakaWaka Light to a Haitian family on your behalf. A family there consists of 5 people on average. These families we're talking about live in the dark. check out this video to get an idea of what that is like. 35,000 people no longer need to fear getting burned as a result of kerosene lamp accidents. 35,000 people will be able to spend several hours extra every single days for years to come. Thousands of children will be able to do their homework at night, improve their grades in school. Parents will be able to work a little extra at night and they don't need to spend 10-20% (!) of their income on lighting fuels. For 35,000 people life does not stop any longer after sunset... It's hard to grasp the impact you guys are having.
Assembly line
As announced, we will in fact be fast tracking our plans for a WakaWaka assembly line on Haiti. I can tell you, even the Prime Minister Lamothe of Haiti knows about our plans and what we, together with you, have accomplished already in such a short period of time (President Martelly already received a WakaWaka last November...). We don't know how many jobs we'll be able to create, but it is a start of something bigger that we hope we can accomplish in Haiti.
Waterproof Pouch
Yesssss!!!! all of you who have backed and who will back before the end of the campaign, will receive a water proof pouch! It is safe to say that the nr. #4 below is the most favorit. So many of you have voted and practically everyone wants this one, especially after we tested it against others (professional test in my bathtub...).
Friends of WakaWaka
We consider you all to be "Friends of WakaWaka" and we hereby promise you we will always treat you as such. Backers are not customers, you are much more than that. You have given us your confidence. We would very much like to stay in touch. It won't always be me personally, but there's Maurits, Michiel, Wouter, Robin, Puck, Cas, Eric, Victor, Anita, Bidisha, Bill, and soon also Anthony who would be happy to respond depending on your question. Check us out on Facebook or Twitter. Your likes and your tweets and retweets are important to us, to WakaWaka as a brand and most of all to the people we're supporting elsewhere in the world. So let us know if you Like what we're doing.
Pledge $69: Get One - Give Two
For each WakaWaka Power you pledge for the $69 Reward tier, we will ensure two (2!) WakaWaka Lights will make it to two (2!) different Haitian families. That is totally 10 (ten!) people who live in a shelter still. You get your WakaWaka Power and enable us to provide a brighter future for 10 people in Haiti... a 1:10 ratio.
I WOULD LIKE TO ASK ALL OF YOU TO PLEASE CHANGE YOUR PLEDGE TO THE $69 REWARD
Yes, you pay more for the same WakaWaka Power, no you're not getting anything extra for it (except for the 25% extra battery capacity and the waterproof pouch of course...). But imagine what your life would be like of you would have 3 hours extra per day... every day... the rest of your life... Now imagine that for 10 people... No brainer I hope... (hope I am not being too pushy here though, but I am pretty excited about making this possible thanks to you). If you are an EARLY BIRD: add $10 for each WakaWaka Power you pledged. We'll do the math correctly and you get a chance to double check after the campaign ends.
THANK YOU ALL! we are truly grateful for your continued support.
Warm wishes,
on behalf of the entire and very hard working team:
Camille
ps. check us on www.kicktraq.com (graph keeps 'traq' of what you guys do)
5,622
Backers
$419,472
pledged of $50,000 goal
0
seconds to go
Funding period
Dec 12, 2012 -
Jan 11, 2013
(30 days)
- 2 created · 12 backed
- Camille Van Gestel 344 friends
- Website: facebook.com
Pledge $1 or more
79 backers
NEWSLETTER REWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stay tuned on the latest news, which celebrities rally behind WakaWaka, what happens in Haiti. You will hear it first.
Estimated delivery: Jan 2013Pledge $49 or more
1000 backers All gone!
EARLY BIRD - LIMITED EDITION . . . . . . . . . Get WakaWaka Power in Yellow or Black delivered to your doorstep. Power to you!
Estimated delivery: May 2013Add $14 to ship outside the USPledge $59 or more
1000 backers All gone!
LATE BIRD - LIMITED EDITION . . . . . . . . . Get WakaWaka Power in Yellow or Black delivered to your doorstep. Power to you!
Estimated delivery: May 2013Add $14 to ship outside the USPledge $59 or more
2000 backers All gone!
FINAL LIMITED EDITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Get WakaWaka Power in Yellow or Black delivered to your doorstep. Power to you!
Estimated delivery: May 2013Add $14 to ship outside the USPledge $69 or more
664 backers
WAKAWAKA POWER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Get WakaWaka Power in Yellow or Black delivered to your doorstep. Power to you!
Estimated delivery: May 2013Add $14 to ship outside the USPledge $89 or more
404 backers
WAKAWAKA POWER & LIGHT SET . . . . . . . . . Get WakaWaka Power in Yellow or Black AND get an additional WakaWaka Light as a bonus reward. Never be without light again. Be prepared. Power & Light to you!
Estimated delivery: May 2013Add $14 to ship outside the USPledge $99 or more
63 backers
PERSONALIZED POWER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Get WakaWaka Power in Yellow of Black with your name on it. We'll add a black velvet pouch for safe keeping. Personal Power!
Estimated delivery: May 2013Add $14 to ship outside the USPledge $99 or more
363 backers
BLACKOUT PORTABLE EMERGENCY KIT . . . . . Be prepared for the next blackout. Stay informed, connected and... warm, where ever you are.Your reward is a classic WakaWaka Light, a WakaWaka Power, USB powered radio, USB heated gloves. check out the specs at the bottom. STAY CONNECTED - Power to you!
Estimated delivery: May 2013Add $14 to ship outside the USPledge $499 or more
3 backers Limited (7 of 10 left)
POWER DINNER IN NEW YORK . . . . . . . . . . . . September 2013 we will be in New York for the CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE. We would like to invite you to have dinner with us. Exact day, time and place will be communicated with you. Of course we will send you a personalized WakaWaka Power in advance. (pls arrange your own transport & overnight stay).
Estimated delivery: Sep 2013
Comments
Creator Camille van Gestel on January 8
@Kurt: Did you go to 'manage my pledge'? Because then it should just work normally.
Creator Kurt Lozier on January 7
Camille, just went to up my pledge from $49US to $69US and I'm at the Amazon checkout page which looks like it's going to charge me $69US instead of the incremental $20US.
Confused as well,
- Kurt
Creator Camille van Gestel on January 7
@Daren: Thanks so much! You'll absolutely get your waterproof pouch! We realised our stretch goal of 250.000 dollars so every backer will get one!
Creator Camille van Gestel on January 7
@Ben: No stress, I'll clarify! Just up your pledge with 10 dollars as you're an early bird. Early birds only can add 10 dollars, so 59 dollars in total instead of 69.
Creator Camille van Gestel on January 7
@Adán: Thanks so much for your enthusiastic support! Like it! You are an early bird so just pledge 10 dollars extra per WakaWaka you want to make 'Give Two'. This is only for the early bird pledgers!
Creator Daren Han on January 7
I just up my pledge from $59 to $118 for 2 waka waka power. Will I get two waterproof pouches?
Creator Ben Yuen on January 6
Also, do add $10 or $20. You update says $10 for early bird but that still only makes it $59. Confused!?!
Creator Ben Yuen on January 6
Is it too late to vote for the waterproof pouches? If not, I vote #4, which I think is winning hands down. Thanks.
Creator Adán Tejada on January 6
Hello Camille and Co.,
I'm an early bird who was buying three plus blackout kits, so:
49 x3 = 147
40 x3 = 120
Total = 267
To move to "Get One, Give Two" I understand that I should update my pledge by $20 per unit, so:
20 x 3 = 60
NEW Total = 327.
Is this correct?
Creator Wietse van Buitenen on January 6
Hi Camille,
thanks for the reply!
Just upped my pledge to $89, added $14 for shipping and $10 for Give Two :)
Good to know I will help out 2 families who need it.
Creator Camille van Gestel on January 6
@Sharlene @Reaper1oo @Raymond @Simon @Danilo @Jaydee Thank you guys so much for upping you pledge! Its a really unselfish act and makes a HUGE impact in the lives of the people who are going to receive a WakaWaka light in your name!!!
Creator Camille van Gestel on January 6
@ Wietse, If you want to change your pledge to the 'WAKAWAKA POWER & LIGHT SET' just change the amount to $89, if you want to also get in on the Giving Two you should ad another 10$. And thanks for pledging!
Creator Camille van Gestel on January 6
@Benni Yes!
Creator Camille van Gestel on January 6
@Michael We know that producing in the USA is a way of both ensuring the quality of the product and helping out the economy but creating an assembly line in the USA means the price goes up to such an extent that we would not be capable of helping out those in the world who live without power completely. So its a well thought trough decision. Hope that makes sense and your still happy with your purchase!
Creator Camille van Gestel on January 6
@Rachel Hi Rachel, the specs on the Blackout Kit are to be found on the bottom of the front page (here http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wakawakalight/wakawaka-power-the-best-compact-solar-power-statio) We have dozens of plans ;) Make sure you join us on FB (http://www.facebook.com/WAKAWAKAlight) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/WakaWakaLight) so we can keep you posted.
Creator Camille van Gestel on January 6
@Jim Good question! We are actually working with the idea to set up a battery exchange program at our local distributers (in over 80 countries already(!)) were people will be able to get a new battery pack for a reduced price. This would include Haiti. BTW: Life expectancy is 1,000 cycles. This means, if you deplete the battery every single day completely, it will last for around 3 years. If you use it 'regularly' battery will last between 5 and 7 years.
Creator Camille van Gestel on January 6
@Ramona Thank you so much for doing this! Your math looks perfect :) 2 Powers to you and 4(!) Lights to Haiti.
Creator Peter Cartwright on January 6
Benni Klomfass, the answer is Yes. See Update #4.
Creator Wietse van Buitenen on January 6
the "Get One - Give Two" initiative is just great!
reading up on the WakaWaka Light I would like to get me one of these too.
If I up my pledge from $59 to $89, am I also "Getting One - Giving Two" or do I need to add another $10 for that?
Not a problem, just want to know how to support if selecting above the $69 pledge :)
You guys are doing a great thing here!
Creator Benni Klomfass on January 6
if i pledge for 2 wakawaka do i get 2 pouches ?
Creator Michael Kuzmenko on January 6
Yes! Great news! How much needs to be raised to create an assembly line in the USA? I'm sure the US economy could also benefit from job creation just as well as Haiti.
Seeing that you are in Discovery Bay, CA., I'm sure you would enjoy seeing a quality WakaWaka with a Made In The USA stamp on it, I know that would make me feel good about my purchase.
Creator cs on January 6
I also share @Jim's question re: batteries but I think it goes beyond just recycling it -- replacing it. And that is how I think you could handle the recycling issue -- have a service center of sorts that replaces the battery for them. Of course, they need to know somehow when the battery has indeed died as opposed to the solar receivers dying or being too clouded/obstructed.
Creator cs on January 6
@Rahel Deitcher if the wwPower will charge iPads and iPhones, it will also charge Androids and any other cell phone that can charge via a usb cable. In short, anything that can pull power from a usb cable, can get power from the wwPower.
Creator Rahel Deitcher on January 6
I couldn't find the specs about the heated gloves and radio on the $99 pledge. And do you have plans for other uses - such as regular cell phones, battery chargers...?
Creator Jaydee on January 5
Increased my pledge. Happy to help!
Creator Jim on January 5
Will the people in Haiti be informed as to how to recycle the batteries once the WakaWaka EOL's?
Creator Danilo Hashimoto on January 5
Also chipped in! great initiative!
Creator Simon Kwan on January 5
Increased my pledge. Happy to help make a positive impact and bring light to more people in Haiti. Awesome stuff happening here. Glad to be a part of it :-)
Creator Ramona Hutton-Howe on January 5
I've just upped my pledge 2x$10 on my earliest bird pledges. That means 2 WakaWaka Powers to me and 4 WakwWaka Lights to Haiti, if my math is correct. So nice to double down. Good luck on spreading your light to Haiti.
Creator Raymond on January 5
Upped my pledge. Count me in.
Creator Reaper1oo on January 5
Just upped, after-all, that is an awesome ratio!
Even if my wallet shall hate me in the future, it can do with a small diet for this.
Creator Jeff Tsang on January 5
Let there be LIGHT!
Creator Sharlene John on January 5
Also upped. Great idea!!
Creator Camille van Gestel on January 5
Thanks guys. it really goes a long way... seriousl beyond our imagination... (unless you have lived in a shelter for 3 years...)
Creator My Cotton Bunny on January 5
Done: It's awesome how much an extra $10 goes a long way.
Creator David Gaipa on January 5
also upped by $10 as an early bird for a good cause.
Creator Andreas on January 5
Pledge updated as well, $10 spent in a very good way
Creator Camille van Gestel on January 5
@Green Arrow: thanks for pointing that out, just adjusted the Update to explain this. simply add $10 for each WakaWaka Power you pledged.
Creator Camille van Gestel on January 5
@Zack: thanks so much, fortunately, since the WakaWaka Light does NOT have a USB port, it is water resistant already. It can withstand a typical tropical rain shower.
Creator Camille van Gestel on January 5
@Peter: AWESOME!! THANKS!
Creator Peter Cartwright on January 5
Pledge updated 2 X $10. Great initiative.
Creator Zack Jones on January 5
Too bad we can't edit our comments. I wanted to add a P.S. Donate my waterproof pouch as well please. I'm sure a family in Haiti needs it more than I do.
Creator Green Arrow (DC) on January 5
Do the early and late bird specials get the 2 for one special too?
Creator Zack Jones on January 5
$20 to help a family of 5 that's less fortunate than me = no brainer! Done and I hope the other 999 $49 early bird backers will do the same.
Creator Andy Rice on January 5
Pledge updated, seems excellent value for only $10 extra.