degr

Dear Friend,

With this I want to inspire you to pursue your dreams. Sometimes it takes 10 years. But then miracles happen! Read our story: My name is Richard Degenaar. Ten years ago I sold my house and almost all my belongings to pursue a dream. A dream to make a difference in the world.

In 1999 I was turning 30. Then the new millennium came. I started thinking about life. I wondered what my purpose was in my life. Slowly I was getting present to an inspiration to do something truly meaningful. Something on a worldwide scale bringing a new quality of life. Therefore in the year 2000 I started thinking about a plan for creating a world that works for everyone. My mind kept on resisting the idea. I had thoughts like: “Who do you think you are? Do you think you are the one who will make this world a better place!”, “You cannot do this, you are not good enough, you will fail, you are a loser!” For many months I was being with this noise. Finally I decided not to listen to this noise. I decided to listen to a small voice, deep within me, which said: “What if you could play a role in bringing an experience of peace, love and unity in the world? Would that be a life worth living?”

In 2001 I started writing a vision of how this future could unfold. I was writing for months and months in a row. In my experience this future started arising. Suddenly I realized: "It is not about changing the world. It is about giving people new experiences. Experiences they never had before." Like I was having while writing. New experiences in the domain of love, unity, joy and fully expressing yourself. When these experiences are ignited, I am sure that people will think, communicate and act in new ways. I believe that this can lead to a world which works for everybody. This was the start of the project Global opportunities.

I closed down my company, returned my car to the dealer, I sold my house and belongings and bought a world ticket. During my traveling I shared the vision I had with thousands of people. I feel deeply blessed because I have connected with more than 50.000 people from over a 100 different countries. The look in their eyes and their feedback told me that this project, which is about connecting peoples hearts, is something we all long for so much. As an experience I also understood that every issue disappears in a moment of being profoundly related. This experience was a human experience. it was not related to which country, culture, religion or whatever different backgrounds we have. This is what the project is about. Connecting peoples hearts as an access to solving local and global issues.

A network of supporting people worldwide came to life. I came to India in 2002. I met Yasmeen Iqbal (my wife) who ran Ahaan Foundation (www.ahaan.org ). Yasmeen brought me to a Madiwala slum where her foundation was sponsoring the education of underprivileged children. There I met little Shabana. She was grabbing my hand and was not planning to let go. I was deeply touched by this experience. I could feel her lack of safety and love. The focus in Global Opportunities shifted towards children.

From 2003 to 2005 we ran an innovative, interactive awareness center (replacement of school) in Holland with 20 children. Through the internet the children in Holland were connected with children in India to bring awareness and opportunities to both sides. After this succesful pilot project we are now preparing the launch of these awareness centers on a worldwide scale. First one in Bangalore around summer of 2012. Second in San Fernando, Chile in 2013. From 2005 to 2010 Yasmeen and I have worked on building an innovative funding system where investors can make money while supporting our projects. This initiative is launching now in June 2011 and will provide the cashflow for the initial launch of the first awareness centers. We will also use our funding system to support other valuable projects for society.

Within the limited human capacities and financial resources of myself, my family and worldwide friends we initiated the groundwork for 10 years. Last month, supported by hundreds of every day and at the same time extraordinary people around the world we have developed a Game Plan. [download from www.gofoundation.info] The plan explains and gives an initial experience of the overall project. The response we are getting on this plan is overwhelming and beyond we expected. Some key people to some of the governments around the world, people from the corporate world and now also the movie and entertainment world are approaching us. We are delighted to see the worldwide growth in awareness in their responses. We will now move forward with partners who understand and see the value of our work and will implement it with the highest integrity.

After 10 years our dream of starting Global Opportunities has come true. I hope I have inspired you to pusue your dreams and never ever give up! You are worth it that one of these days your dream will come true.

Warm regards,

Richard