|
Thank You Stella and Jimmy
|
29-Dec
|
|
We are very happy to report that we have received a donation of 100 pairs of brand new croc shoes for the children that we help. Our thanks go to Stella and Jimmy for kindly arranging the donation to the Charity and for getting the shoes to us. Without doubt they will be very much appreciated by the children and we look forward to working together in future.
|
|
|
|
|
Two of the Mango Tree trustees made the journey south this afternoon to partiake in the Christmas celebrations at the Children of Goa project. The party had been arranged by Maria for the 21 children who attend tuition classes each afternoon. Maria prepared lunch and provided juice for all the children. .....
Read More
|
|
|
|
|
Today The Mango Tree held a Christmas party for around 80 children and special guests. The day started at around 9am with our teacher explaining to the children all about Christmas and why it is celebrated and then snacks were handed out. We were then treated to a special dance from our morning school children and Aloysius our House Father put on a skit with the help of some children. .....
Read More
|
|
|
Savita Hoists the Flag on Goa Liberation day
|
19-Dec
|
|
Today Goa celebrated the 51st anniversary of its liberation from Portugese rule. Mango Tree first celebrated the event by attending the Dr Ambedkar school where Savita Rao had been invited as a chief guest. Savita proudly hoisted the Indian Flag and gave a speech in honour of this very special day.
|
|
|
The Mango Tree Attends the Don Bosco Bal Mela
|
19-Dec
|
|
Today Mango Tree was pleased to be one of several NGOs supporting underprivileged children which were invited to attend the Don Bosco Bal Mela. A huge programme of activities had been arranged to ensure a fun filled day. On arrival the children were given breakfast frooti and samosa. Each child was given 10 games coupons which they handed in to play their choice of games from a selection of around 30 including Ring a Stump, Basketball, Son or Sardar, Fishing the Bottle, Chutta Nikal, Buzzer etc. After the games there was lunch for all. Later there was a dance session where our children displayed their talents and finally all children received a gift. There was a lot of fun and laughter throughout the day and we thank Don Bosco for their kind invitation.
|
|
|
THANK YOU to Gandys Flip Flops
|
18-Dec
|
|
We were delighted to receive a generous donation from Gandys Flip Flops recently - this will cover the costs of a teacher for the academic year and provide school bags too. Gandys is a new company set up by two brothers Rob and Paul Forkhan who were orphaned in the 2004 Tsunami. In order to find something positive from this very tragic event they set about creating a new brand of flip flops which would not only be stylish but would have a real purpose behind them too. As a result, Gandys was born. The brothers eventually intend to open their own orphanage but meanwhile have very generously offered to give Mango Tree Goa 10% of Gandys profits each year to help fund our work in Goa.You can read all about the brothers' tragic but inspirational story here.
|
|
|
|
|
Today we were very fortunate to be joined by some 92 volunteers from Glenmark Pharmaceuticals who gave their time and talents to help both the Mango Tree and our local Dr Ambedkar school. The main group arrived around 10am and the garden transformed into a sea of red as the volunteers donned their t-shirts for the day......
Read More
|
|
|
Saroj Cooks for 300!!!
|
15-Dec
|
|
As we reflected on a wonderful visit from Glenmark we thought one more person deserved a special mention - Saroj our Mango House cook provided around 300 meals for the children and volunteers. Saroj's cooking has a great reputation but cooking for 300 instead of 100 was not an easy task. Plans were made several weeks in advance and preparation started the previous day. All staff lent a helping hand and work went on long into the evening. The cooking was a huge success. Of her eventful time she said "it was a lot more work to cook for 300 instead of 100 children but I enjoyed it. The whole team helped, and we got the food ready in time so I was happy. Even some volunteers told me the food was good."
|
|
|
|
As our newsletter goes out many people throughout the world are preparing for Christmas. Many people will be focussing on a very important religious celebration whilst for many others the focus will be on the giving of gifts, spending time with our family and friends, eating, drinking and generally making merry. We wish all of those celebrating Christmas a joyful time.
|
|
|
Our 2012 Christmas Appeal
|
25-Nov
|
|
There are many kind people who think about giving to those in a less fortunate position than themselves at Christmas. Each year Mango Tree Goa will hold a Christmas Appeal which will run from 25th November to 6th January. We hope our appeal will hold a special place in the hearts of those who wish to give disadvantaged children in Goa a brighter future. Today we launched our 2012 Christmas Appeal. Click here to read more about it.
|
|
|
80G Tax Exemption Secured
|
19-Nov
|
|
The Mango Tree Trust is now exempt under section 80G and 12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Under Section 80G deduction is available to any Indian National Tax Payer (individual or company) making a donation to the Trust. It allows 50% income tax exemption on all contributions subject to calculation and limitation.If you are an Indian National or NRI and would like to help by making a donation to the Trust please contact us at
themangotreetrust@hotmail.com
|
|
|
Children's Day at The Mango Tree Trust
|
14-Nov
|
|
14th November is celebrated as Children's Day all over India. On this auspicious day one of our national leaders called Jawaharlal Nehru was born. He loved children and recognised them as the bright future of our country. Children's Day is celebrated with a great spirit of joy and accordingly we had a special programme of activities for all the children. During the morning school session the teachers explained why Children's Day was special and then arranged craft, lamp lighting and painting activities for them. In the afternoon session the teacher gave a speech about Children's Day before the National Anthem was sung. We then had lots of fun playing games such as musical statues, balloon games and a treasure hunt. The children enjoyed their day a lot and the staff had a lot of fun too.
|
|
|
|
We send our warm wishes today to those in India and overseas who are celebrating Diwali today. May it glow with peace, joy and prosperity.
|
|
|
Happy Birthday to You!
|
01-Nov
|
|
October's end of the month birthday party was delayed by a day and celebrated on the 1st November. This enabled us to make it a double celebration as it was also Savita's birthday. The children performed some great dance routines and three of the younger ones performed a very special dance which our teacher Anna had taught them. Of course the boys continue to give the girls some strong competition when it comes to dancing. Also it was very good to see some of the children's mothers attending the party and looking very proud to see their children perform their routines. Everyone enjoyed a fantastic afternoon with the usual games of pass the parcel and finishing off with cake and ice cream for all.
Click here to see a photo set of how we celebrate birthdays.
The children performed some great dance routines and three of the younger ones who performed a very special dance which our teacher Annu had taught them.
|
|
|
Thank You to Sandwell College
|
26-Oct
|
|
We are very happy to learn that students from Sandwell College have decided to fundraise for our Bags4School scheme. We really appreciate their efforts and look forward to meeting the students early in the New Year.
Click here to read more about our Bags4School scheme.
|
|
|
|
Earlier this week we were joined by a group of 20 students and 2 staff from the American School of Mumbai. The group spent their afternoon with us. They arranged themselves into groups and undertook craft sessions and played football with the boys. The children had a wonderful time and we say a huge thank you to the group for sharing their time and talents and especially to Jennifer for arranging the visit. .....
View Gallery
|
|
|
The Mango Tree Trust Banner
|
18-Oct
|
|
Recently our volunteers had the idea of making a very special banner for Mango House. They based it on our logo but had the wonderful thought to make the leaves of the tree from handprints of the children, volunteers and staff. The banner now hangs in the entrance hall at Mango House and we say a huge thank you to Chloe, Hegelina and Laura for giving us such a wonderful gift.
|
|
|
Thank you to Kathleen for Knitting for us
|
15-Oct
|
|
A huge thank you goes to a very patient lady Kathleen Large who has taken the time to knit lots of beautiful baby clothes for us. Knitting is a labour of love and we really appreciate Kathleen's commitment and look forward to distributing her works of art in the New Year
|
|
|
Kabaddi Competition
|
29-Sep
|
|
Recently six of the girls we support and seven boys represented their school in a Kabaddi competition at Pedem. The girls formed part of a under 17 team and the boys formed an under 14 team both representing their schools. Both teams won all of their matches and we congratulate them for their excellent talents and their efforts
|
|
|
Happy Ganesh Chaturthi
|
19-Sep
|
|
We wish all those celebrating this festival today a Happy Ganesh Chaturthi.
|
|
|
Ganesh Chaturthi Celebrations at the Mango Tree Trust
|
18-Sep
|
|
Ganesh Chaturthi is a very important Hindu festival which is celebrated nationwide in India, but especially so in Maharastra and Goa. The
festival is celebrated by Hindu people with a great spirit of joy. During this festival many people come together and make pujas of the Idol of Ganesha in their own houses. Friends and relatives, visit one another’s homes to greet one another. Some families will celebrate this festival for two days, some for five days, and others for eleven days. Traditionally people prepare different types of sweets in their own houses. This year we celebrated the festival with the children we help. On Monday we held a Ganesh drawing competition for all children and the staff prepared sweets called nevrio. We distributed these to the children the following day and wished them all Happy Ganesh Chaturthi.
|
|
|
Thank You to Wonder Ice Cream
|
03-Sep
|
|
We are very fortunate to receive free ice cream every month so that we can give the children a special treat when we celebrate birthdays at the end of each month. We thank Wonder Ice Cream for doing this for us.
|
|
|
Thank You to Anthony & Karen Pereira
|
03-Sep
|
|
Earlier in the year we were asked whether we could make use of some computers which were being replaced in a Panjim office. We hastily made arrangements to pick them up and are now the lucky owners of 7 desktop PCs. We are really grateful to Anthony & Karen Pereira for donating them to us and to friends for letting us know that they were available.
|
|
|
Gaining Parental Consent to Support Children
|
03-Sep
|
|
We will provide a range of services to support children but before doing so we require the permission of at least one parent or next of kin to do so.Our House Father Ali is visiting each family and explaining the
different ways the Trust is able to help.Parents are then able to confirm the help they wish their
child/children to receive. By doing this we know, for example, that a
child can receive medical treatment or can go on an outing. By being
clear about what parents want and by abiding by their decision we hope
that - over time - we will build trust with families and children will
be able to receive all the support that we offer.
|
|
|
Appeal for Second-Hand Books
|
03-Sep
|
|
We hope to encourage the children we help to have a love of books and reading, and currently we are developing a library. If anyone has any second-hand children's books that they could donate, we would really appreciate them.
|
|
|
Thank You to Thomas Cook
|
01-Sep
|
|
We would like to thank Thomas Cook for confirming that they will provide supporters with an additional charity luggage allowance to take items to Goa. Click here to read more about charity luggage and to locate the Additional Luggage Allowance form.
|
|
|
Thank You to Thomson Fly
|
01-Sep
|
|
We would like to thank Thomson Fly for confirming that they will provide supporters with an additional charity luggage allowance to take items to Goa. Click here to read more about charity luggage and to locate the Additional Luggage Allowance form.
|
|
