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MAISY'S GARAGE SALE
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15-Sep
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We were very touched to hear that Maisy, one of our long term supporters, had raised £30 from a garage sale. We loved this photo and particularly the good use made of the Bus Stop! Maisy decided to put the funds raised to our Leaves For Learning Appeal and added leaves for her family.
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OUR GANESH RANGOLI
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30-Aug
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At Mango House there is a longstanding tradition of creating Ganesh themed Rangoli before breaking up for the Ganesh Chaturthi holidays. Children draw an outline on the floor and then painstakingly fill it in with coloured powder. As ever the results were spectacular.
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TEACHERS DAY SURPRISES
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29-Aug
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This year Teachers' Day fell during this week's Ganesh Holidays so we planned a small celebration before breaking up. Recognising that teachers should just get to enjoy the day we asked them not to prepare any activities. Secretly we arranged for a card to be made and for all children to sign it. Also secretly, in fact so secretly that none of us knew, 6th and 7th Standard children were planning their own celebration. Staff were called to a classroom which had a huge ribbon across the door. Our manager was asked to cut it and as the team entered they were showered with flower petals, many coming down from the fans above. A full programme of activities then took place which included teachers being invited to cut a small cake which children had managed to buy between them, a presentation of handmade cards and roses and a programme of dance and games which teachers joined in. It was a beautiful celebration made all the more special by children's sincere desire to do their teachers proud. Here you can see all our teachers and teaching assistants in their beautiful saris in honour of the day.
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AN AMAZING GANESH CELEBRATION
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28-Aug
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Before breaking up for the Holidays Mango House celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi with an amazing programme of prayer and dance. Rehearsals had taken place over the previous weeks to ensure a polished performance. It started with 2nd Standard children reciting a Sanskrit Stotra (hymn of praise) and ended with an aarti (prayer). In between there are lots of ganesh themed dances, traditional performances by the Mango House staff team and the shouting of the age old slogan Ganpati Bappa Morya. By any measure it was an amazing afternoon and a testimony to the Mango House team.
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SAROJ'S SWEET SUCCESS
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27-Aug
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Almost every visitor to Mango House will have met our lovely cook Saroj. Every day on a large two ring stove Saroj and her helper cook healthy nutritious means not only for the children and staff at Mango House but also for everyone at Learning Tree too. We could say that everyday Saroj cooks around 250 meals but anyone who has visited Mango House in the morning will know that most children have second helpings and there are even a few who have thirds, fourths and on occasion fifths! A conservative estimate of just one meal per child during term time would mean that around 50,000 meals are prepared. If that wasn't enough Saroj likes to give us an occasional treat too. Here she is with a plate of Modak a sweet containing coconut and jaggery which is traditionally served to Lord Ganesha during Ganesh Chaturthi. Having made the offering to Ganesh all the Mango House team got to sample the sweets. They were divine!
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NATASHA AND ALEXANDRA RAISE £120 AT FAMILY BARBEQUE
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25-Aug
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We say a huge thank you to sisters Natasha and Alexandra who chose to do some fundraising at their family's summer barbeque. They made name bracelets and held a raffle and managed to raise a whopping £120. It was a lovely thing to do and we thank everyone who supported them so well.
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THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF SERVICE SWEDEN DONATES £1,000
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15-Aug
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Shortly after announcing our Leaves For Learning fundraiser we were thrilled and very grateful to receive a donation of £1,000 from the Theosophical Society of Service Sweden. Over the years T.S.O.S.S have been a great support to the Charity and it was a wonderful boost to receive such a generous early donation to the campaign and we were delighted to add a peacock to our Leaves For Learning Tree.
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STAR STUDENT GETS UNIVERSITY PLACE TO SUDY MEDICINE/SURGERY
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15-Aug
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For some time we have known that one of our students had a dream of becoming a cardiologist. She was a smart girl but we were advised that she would need to go to a quite costly Medical Institute to have any hope of scoring well enough in the National Entrance Exams and gaining a Medical Seat. We funded her attendance and whilst there she got the news that the costs of a Medical/Surgery Degree were well over £5,000. She was devastated and we were shocked but told her not to concern herself with the costs, that her job was to do well enough to get a place and ours was to find the money.
Out of the blue at almost the same time a lady asked to meet one of our trustees. They chatted about many things including the difficulties she had faced as an overseas student in London and how an organisation had helped her. Our trustee mentioned Manjita and the difficulty we were facing. There and then a promise was made to meet the entire costs. A donation quickly followed. Our job was done. Everything relied on Manjita’s performance. She sat the entrance exams a year ago but was unable to get a place. In fairness it’s a tall order in any case but to study for final exams at school and National Entrance Exams is a huge burden. Not prepared to admit defeat she asked for a year to prepare herself fully. Manjita resat the Entrance exams this time scoring better than 93% of all other students nationally. As a result she obtained a place to study on her dream course at Goa Medical College. We are thrilled for Manjita and delighted that by some quirk of fate we joined up a lady who was really looking to help someone with a young lady who badly needed that help.
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INDEPENDENCE DAY PRIDE
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15-Aug
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Independence Day is celebrated throughout India with a great sense of pride. It's a very important day in the school calendar. The day starts with the unfurling of the flag and the singing of the national anthem. A well rehearsed programme of patriotic, speeches and dances take place before children leave mid morning. The children at Mango House then go along there and enjoy a further opportunity to showcase their many talents and see how each other's respective schools had celebrated. Not to be left out our teachers also sang patriotic songs. Our programme drew to a close with the signing of the national Anthem and distribution of sweets.
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A VERY SPECIAL RHAKSHA BHANDAN CELEBRATION
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13-Aug
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Today Mango House had an early Raksha Bhandan celebration. This Hindu festival reflects the special bond between sisters and their brothers or someone who is like a brother to them. The bond is symbolised by the tying of a sacred thread to a brother's wrist. The children at Mango House were treated to a traditional ceremony today. Our "sisters" used specially prepared thali plates from which they took kum kum to place a tika on their brother's forehead, used the candle for the prayer, fed him a sweet and then tied the rhaki to his wrist. It was beautiful ceremony and a good reminder of the importance of the special bond.
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MEET GIRIJA THE NEW MANGO HOUSE MANAGER
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09-Aug
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We were very pleased to welcome Girija the new Mango House manager today. We hope that many of you will meet her over the coming months.
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SUSAN AND MICHAEL'S AT HOME SUMMER FETE
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07-Aug
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Today we had a lovely surprise when we heard that our friends Susan and Michael had held a Summer Fete for their family and friends at their home near Grimsby. They had lots of traditional fundraising stalls and games and raised an astonishing £450. We thank them for their wonderful support and thank all of those who attended and gave so generously on the day
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GILL AND RICHARD'S TASTY FUNDRAISER
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05-Aug
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On one of the hottest days of the year, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees, Gill and Richard, our friends in France, held an evening of Gin Testing and Aperos - a French ritual that combines food, drinks and friends. The couple had wonderful support from their community. Through ticket sales and a raffle this generous couple were astonished to raise 540 Euros. It was a brilliant evening which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. We say a huge thank you to Gill and Richard for their efforts before and on the day and all those who supported their amazing fundraiser.
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CELEBRATING FRIENDSHIP DAY
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04-Aug
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Friendship Day is celebrated throughout India in early August. It's an important day when friends get together and often exchange tokens such as a card or friendship band. The day is celebrated at Mango House and Learning Tree in both morning and afternoon sessions. For our youngest children not only do teachers help them to make and exchange Friendship Bands but its a great opportunity for them to talk to children about the importance of friendship in life and what it means to be a good friend. All classes took part in specially themed lessons and here you can see the Friendship Flower that one of our Upper Kindergarten classes worked on. The petals reminded children that to be a good friend they should share, love one another, play together, work together, help others, take care of others, smile and be happy. Good advice indeed.
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MANGO HOUSE PROUDLY RECEIVES THE GOA STATE LEADERSHIP AWARD
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02-Aug
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We were very proud to hear that once again the team at Mango House had again been honoured with the Goa State Leadership Award in the category of NGO Award. The awards are a tribute to achievers and leaders in the state and to excellence amongst those making a difference. Our Assistant Manager and Social Worker attended a glittering award ceremony at the Vivanta in Panjim today and received the award on behalf of the Trust. You can see them here with Dr Bhatia, the founder of World CSR Day.
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AN INCOME TAX VISIT
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24-Jul
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We were very pleased to receive a visit from Mt Basavraj Hiremath and his family today. Mr Hiremath is a Joint Commissioner from the Income Tax Department and he visited Mango House as part of the annual Income Tax Day Celebrations. The family brought along lots of stationery items which we were very happy to receive.
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LEAVES FOR LEARNING FUNDRAISER
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15-Jul
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Many of you will already know about that Mango Tree purchased a beautiful Portuguese Villa in June. The House requires some refurbishment and an extension and we still require around £50,000 to do this. With this in mind we have launched a new Appeal - Brick By Brick The Final Push. You can read about it here. We know it's an enormous challenge but we are determined to rise to it. One of the ways we hope to raise some of the funds is through our Leaves For Learning fundraiser. To recognise everyone who makes a donation of £5 or more we are adding leaves to symbolic trees in the classrooms at Mango House and as trees in India have monkeys and peacocks we are adding those too for donations/fundraising of £100 or £1,000 respectively. You can read all about our Leaves For Learning Fundraising here. We very much need our trees to grow and would love you to help us if you can. You can make an online donation here and if you do please don't forget to leave a message to let us know what name(s) we should add to your leaf(ves).
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CELEBRATING BAKRA EID
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31-May
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Today all classes celebrated Eid Al Adha, otherwise known as Bakri Eid. All classes took part in Eid themed craft activities which traditionally feature the Crescent Moon and Stars as it is the sighting of the Crescent Moon which signifies the start of the festivals. Bakri Eid, however, is also traditionally marked by the sacrifice of an animal and as you can see some of our Bakri Eid crafts featured sheep too.
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