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Annette Grace Steps Down
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31-Mar
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Today Annette Grace steps down from her position as a UK Trustee. As a Founding Trustee Annette helped ensure Mango Tree has a solid foundation on which we can build in years to come. We can't let the day pass without expressing our sincere thanks for all Annette's hard work, the result of which will improve so many children's lives. We hope Annette will always be a part of Mango Tree and wish her all the very best for the future.
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Our Back to School Appeal 1st-14th April
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29-Mar
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Every year Mango Tree holds a Back to School Appeal to raise funds towards the costs of providing school uniforms and school bags. This year our appeal will be held from 1st-14th April. We aim to provide around 400 school uniforms and 300 school bags and expect to spend around £4,500. It sounds a huge amount of money but a small donation really will make a big difference. Read all about our appeal here - and please help us if you can.
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Farewell Pat Auntie
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21-Mar
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At the end of March we said farewell to Pat who volunteered with Mango Tree for five months. Pat did so many lovely activities with the children which brightened up their days and she will really be missed. We say a huge thank you and hope to see her back at Mango House again.
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Although Mango House officially closes for the Holi holiday all children who aren’t celebrating at home are invited to join with us to celebrate. As you can see we had a lot of fun! .....
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Wishing Everyone a Colourful Holi!
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17-Mar
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The Holi festival signifies the victory of good over evil, the end of winter and the arrival of spring and for many a festive day to meet others, play and laugh, and forgive and forget. We wish all those celebrating this special festival joyful days.
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We have now published our latest newsletter covering the last three months. Use the blue subscribe button on the right hand side of this page if you want to subscribe to the newsletter by email......
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Thank You for Supporting Us with Mind Rewind II
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01-Mar
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A huge thank you to all those who were involved in the Mind Rewind 2 project. Its such a kind thing that those concerned ensure disadvantaged children in Goa benefit from the release of music from the scene in Goa and we really do appreciate it. To date the Charity had received the whopping sum of £1,600.
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Talk by Directorate of Health Services
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06-Feb
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We were pleased to welcome 10 members from The Urban Health Centre in Mapusa to conduct a workshop on the topics of "adolescent reproductive and sexual health" and "Healthy Nutrition. Everyone's haemoglobin level was checked, tablets issued where counts were low and the importance of good nutrition for proper development was discussed. Doctors spoke about the onset of Puberty, adolescent reproductive and sexual health and the bodily changes expected. This session was held separately for boys and girls in order to maintain privacy and help them comfortably communicate and raise their concerns with the doctors.
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We are very saddened to report that one of the slums, housing some of the poorest children we help, has been cleared by the Government (photo before demolition). It left entire families homeless. We never show photos of families at home or children in a distressed state. We know such photos may encourage support but we respect family's right to privacy and children's right to dignity. The events of the last couple of weeks, however, remind us of the real hardship that exists in many children's lives and how important projects which support them are. All families were visited in the short time before the slum was cleared to explain that Mango House would continue to support children wherever they went in the immediate area. Some children were missing from Mango House for a few days but we are very relieved to report that all but one are back attending regularly.
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We were delighted to welcome a party of 14 teachers and students from Sandwell College Tourism Department at the end of January. Not only did they bring many useful gifts and raised funds to sponsor children too but they planned activities to ensure our birthday party was so much fun. They performed dance routines, which the children joined in, played party games and had everyone limboing by the end of the party. We concluded the day with the students giving out birthday gifts, dancing and then cake and icecream for all. The children had a fabulous time and we think we can safely say the students did too. See how much fun we got up to......
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Rewarding Good Attendance
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30-Jan
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We recognise that not all children can excel at school despite the effort they put in. We therefore work with schools to identify those with the highest attendance over the year and make a point of rewarding them. The children here had the highest attendance and were treated to a meal at a local restaurant followed by a lolly stop on the way back to Mango House.
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Introducing our Talented Mango House Staff
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27-Jan
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To support over 160 children Monday through Friday throughout the year we have a team of 15. Our support staff are continually cleaning, shopping, preparing, cooking, serving meals, washing up, sorting donations, picking up and dropping children and ensuring all is properly accounted for. Our nurse attends to minor ailments and oversees more serious matters. Our teachers, counsellor and social worker spend their day working directly with children or their families. They all speak Konkani, Marathi, Hindi and English. Last, but never least, Savita leads her team, liaises with Mango Tree in the UK and meets our visitors. We are proud to say that 3 of our team have both Bachelors and Masters Degrees, 3 have Bachelors Degrees and 3 have Diplomas in Education. Every member of staff makes a vital contribution and we say thank you for all that they do, day in and day out, to improve children's lives.
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Saints Charity Bookstore - Arambol
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21-Jan
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We are very fortunate to be chosen by Richard to receive the all the proceeds from the sale of second-hand books from his bookstore in Arambol. So far we have received a whopping 35,000 rupees! The shelves of books can be found in Handy Andy's Wine store on the main road down to the beach with all the proceeds being donated to Mango Tree. If you visit Arambol do browse the bookshelves or if you have any books you can spare either drop them at Mango House or let us know on 9881 261 886 and we will arrange to pick them up and pass them on.
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Our Youngest Children Introduced to the Circus
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20-Jan
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Today we had another outing to the circus but this time took our Upper and Lower Kindergarten children for their first visit. It was a wonderful afternoon particularly as most children had never seen such spectacular scenes. The purpose of our pre-primary school is many-fold but a crucial aspect is to help introduce children to the world about them. It really was a wonderful introduction in so many ways and we thank Lynne and Paul for making the outing possible.
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Recently Mango House had an interesting lesson about the flags, languages and currencies of different countries. As you can see the children were transfixed. Each was given a flag and then represented that country in the outdoor events that followed. In the garden children "flew" from flag to flag as flightswere announced. Our visitors Gabbie and Akshay put a huge amount of effort into entertaining the children and we hope the children's enthusiasm and joy were a just reward......
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Our Talented Flute Players Perform
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13-Jan
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Twice a week for almost a year Mango Tree has accompanied five children to the Mitsuko Trust in Panjim for flute (recorder) lessons. Progress was made until the boys felt ready to perform in public. To date they have performed at three specially arranged children's events. In addition to learning a new skill the children learnt about commitment, dedication and teamwork. By performing at specially arranged local events the children enjoyed mixing with other budding musical artists and felt the pleasure of having their hard work acknowledged by an appreciative audience. As you can see they also got to take part in some fun activities too. We say "Thank You" to Mitsuko and especially to Susan for giving the children such a wonderful opportunity.
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Appointment of Social Worker at Mango House
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13-Jan
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We are delighted to announce that John D'Cruz has been appointed to the post of full time social worker at Mango House. John has a degree in Sociology and has worked for Childline India for over two years. He has a wealth of experience working with disadvantaged and abused children in Goa. He is already well known to Mango House having taken part in several awareness sessions whilst with Childline - so much so in fact that the children refer to him as "John Childline"!
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By chance, we recently saw a few photos from before and after the Christmas party which made us smile. Every single gift given at Christmas was donated and so it was quite a task to sort them and ensure that each present was suitable for the child who would receive it. Just like families everywhere at Christmas the team sat together and wrapped up the gifts in a quiet moment when the children are out of sight. And when the party was over and the guests had gone home they relaxed in the kitchen together, just like many families do, - tired but happy because Christmas is for children and all went well......
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