SEPTEMBER 2019
The third quarter of 2019 was exceptional for several
reasons. Not only did it see us welcome back the highest
ever number of children to Mango House and Learning Tree at
the start of the new school year and celebrate the most
festivals on account of the changing dates of festivals in
the Hindu and Muslim calendar but amazingly a beautiful
Portuguese Villa on a large plot was found and became Mango
Tree's in June. Many of you will already know this news but
for those of you who missed our special edition newsletter
you can read it here The purchase of the property means that
Mango Tree really will have a permanent place to call home.
It's an enormous milestone in the life of the Charity. The
House requires some renovation and a sizeable extension. To
raise for the funds for this we have launched a new appeal -
The Brick By Brick - Final Push Appeal and the Leaves For
Learning Fundraiser which you can read more about below. We
know we have a way still to go but then end is in sight and
that's a great place to be.
OUR LEAVES FOR LEARNING
FUNDRAISER
Many of you may already know about our Leaves For Learning
fundraiser which is one of the ways we aim to raise the
£50,000 we still need to refurbish, extend and furnish the
newly purchased Mango Tree House. It's an enormous challenge
and we are determined to rise to it. 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).
FAREWELL TO ASHWINI
Although we were hugely
relieved and excited when we the purchase of the new
property was completed it was tinged with some sadness too.
Signing for the property at the Registrar's Office was one
of Ashwini's last duties before leaving her post later that
day. The following day she took up a much prized Government
job at a local College. We have really appreciated Ashwini's
time at Mango House and know she will always be there for
Mango Tree in future. Ashwini leaves with our respect and
best wishes. Here you can see the whole Mango House team who
gathered to present gifts and their good wishes.
CELEBRATING EID
There were so many major festivals and celebrations in
the last quarter that they were literally crashing into one
another. Most Muslim festivals follow the lunar calendar
whilst Hindu festivals follow the Hindu calendar and as a
consequence the dates move every year. This year for the
first time we celebrated the two most important Eid
festivals in the one quarter. First, shortly after the start
of the new school year, came Eid Al Fitr and in early August
we 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.
MEET PRAKASH - OUR FIRST GRADUATE
We are thrilled and delighted to announce that Mango Tree
has its first graduate. Prakash attended Mango House from
the very start of the Charity in 2012 and we have supported
him ever since. In June we got the news that we had been
waiting for - results were out and Prakash had been awarded
a Second Class Honours Degree in Commerce. A keen boxer, who
has completed at State Level, Prakash always balanced
studying and boxing/keeping fit really well and is an
excellent role model for the children at Mango House.
THE START OF A NEW SCHOOL
YEAR
The start of the new school year is always an exciting
time. We are pleased to report that once again every place
in all projects is full. Children are growing up fast. Those
who were in our first pre-primary class are now in 7th
Standard and after completing the current year at Mango
House will join outside tuition classes. We continue to grow
each year as 3 classes of pre-primary children join and only
a small number of afternoon children leave. It's fair to say
that this year's 1st Standard have had to be shoe-horned
into a nowhere near big enough Mango House classroom. We had
hoped to take them to Learning Tree but there are so many we
couldn't fit them in the van! It's far from ideal and we are
very much looking forward to work starting next year at the
new House so we can relieve this situation. Meanwhile here's
one of our favourite photos of the year - a rare glimpse of
most of the Mango House children in the afternoon.
A DREAM COME TRUE - MANJITA GETS A PLACE TO
STUDY FOR A MEDICAL DEGREE
For some time we knew that Manjita had a dream of being a
cardiologist. She was a smart girl but we were advised she
needed to attend a costly Medical Institute to score highly
in the National Entrance exams and gain a place to study
Medicine/Surgery. Whilst at the Institute she learnt the
costs of the degree were well over £5,000. Even we were
shocked. At about the same time a lady living in the UK but
whose family originated in Goa asked to meet a trustee as
she was thinking of supporting the charity in some way.
Whilst chatting she mentioned 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 fund
the costs of the degree. We are delighted to say that
Manjita scored better than almost 94% of the students who
sat the NEET exams nationally and was awarded a place to
study Medicine/Surgery at Goa Medical College. Manjita has
been lucky to have a sponsor who has supported her for many
years and now has a new sponsor too. We thank both of them
for making Manjita's dream come true.
THE FRIENDSHIP DAY FLOWER
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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A CHANGE OF CHARITY TRUSTEES
After our June meeting both Jane Drury and
Julie Davis stepped down as trustees for Mango
Tree. Both had given long service with Jane
serving for over 5 years and Julie over 4. Both
ladies stepped down having seen Mango Tree
through to the point where we had finally
acquired a permanent base in Goa. We thank both
ladies for their support and contribution over
the years and know that they will remain good
friends of Mango Tree. At the same time we also
welcomed back Annette Grace (photo above) on to
Mango Tree's Board. Annette was a founder of the
Charity in 2012 and we very much look forward to
working together on the next phase of Mango
Tree's journey.
STYRRUP HALL SENIORS FUND THE FIRST PEACOCK ON
OUR TREES
We were thrilled to be supported once again by the Seniors
section of the Styrrup Hall Golf Club. On a warm sunny day
in June over 30 players took part. In addition to the
traditional golf competition there were prizes for nearest
the pin, a huge raffle, an auction and at the Half Way House
golfers had the opportunity to purchase some fabulous home
made cakes. Over £1,200 was raised and we say a huge thank
you to all those who supported the event with a special
mention to John for taking on the fundraising challenge yet
again, to Lauren at Styrrup Hall for her support and last
but not least to star bakers Geraldine, Joan and Christine.
The Seniors were happy to direct their funds to our Leaves
For Learning fundraiser and we were delighted to add our
first peacock to our trees..
LISA'S 100 DRESSES
In May we were
contacted by Lisa, a long time friend of Mango
Tree based in Italy. She told us that she
planned to have a sale of 100 Dresses to benefit
Mango Tree. The dresses were all made in India
and the sale was to take place at the dazzling
Atelier Ricci in the Tuscan city of Lucca. With
the help of many volunteers and organisers Citta
and Matita an amazing fashion show took place.
Those who attended were invited to purchase a
dress in aid of the Charity. The fashion show
was simply stunning and we are amazed and
delighted to report that Lisa raised over
£4,100. We say a huge thank you to Lisa, all
those who volunteered and helped and to the many
people who purchase a dress. You can see some of
Lisa's beautiful dresses here.
GILL & RICHARD'S TASTY FUNDRAISER
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.
SUSAN & MICHAEL'S AT HOME SUMMER
FETE
We had a lovely
surprise last month when we learnt that our
friends Susan and Michael had held a Summer Fete
in aid of Mango Tree at their home in Grimsby.
The fete was attended by their family and
friends. Lots of traditional stalls and games
were arranged along with refreshments too.
Amazingly they raised £450. We thank them for
their wonderful support and thank all of those
who attended and gave so generously on the day
MANGO HOUSE AGAIN HONOURED WITH
GOA STATE LEADERSHIP AWARD
We were very pleased to hear that 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. Sujata and Sujan from
the Mango House team attended a glittering
awards ceremony at the Taj Vivanta in Panjim and
received the award on behalf of the Trust. You
can see them here with Dr Bhatia, the founder of
World CSR Day.
INDEPENDENCE DAY PRIDE
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.
NATASHA'S AND
ALEXANDRA'S FAMILY FUNDRAISER
We say a huge thank you to sisters Natasha and
Alexandra who chose to do some fundraising at
their family's summer barbecue. They made name
bracelets and held a raffle raising a whopping
£120. It was a lovely thing to do and we thank
everyone who supported them too. |
