Bringing Items over for the Children

Household Items (For The Mango House)

The Mango House is the heart of the charity. The children attend the house all year round and this enables us to provide them with a warm supportive home. To this end we are always in need of household items, to keep the children clean and healthy and to also keep the house clean and running well. Below is a list of items we need on a daily basis.

Personal Hygiene

Hair Conditioner

Lots of the girls have long hair so conditioner is a huge bonus to tackle often wild hair

Shampoo

To help with hygiene we make sure the children wash their hair well, keeping it clean gives them pride in their appearance and promotes their own personal hygiene.

Toothpaste

Tooth paste is always needed, we often give spare toothpaste and toothbrushes out in the local slum communities where it is always welcome. If they do not have toothpaste available they often us charcoal as a substitute.

Talcum Powder

Due to the hot weather and humidity talcum powder is used to keep the skin dry and helps protect against fungal and related infections.

Nail Brushes

Nail brushes are given to all the house children and spares given out in the slums, the children often pick at scabs from small cuts and burns which introduces secondary infections, nail brushes help by keeping their nails clean.

Head Lice combs and treatment /Tea tree Products

Head lice are permanently entrenched in the slums and the children are continually having outbreaks as they sleep close together. The combs allow them to control the lice at home, the treatment is used at the house each week where required to help keep the problem under control

Soap / Shower Gel

Soap is used every day and we encourage the children to keep clean all day. Any extra soap we receive is also often given to the children in the local slums to give them a hygiene boast which they often require.

Cleaning Products

It might not be directly related to children, but we do still have to keep 'The Mango House' clean and safe for the children. Many household items aren't as good quality in India. Washing up liquid, toilet cleaner, mop heads, surface cleaner, scrubbers for the dishes, washing powder etc would all be welcomed.

Toys and Games

We are always happy to receive toys and games that are in good condition. Toys are generally split up into two categories, the first is toys for "The Mango House". The charity would be pleased to receive strong larger toys that can withstand the love and affection that 50 children can give :o) - Slum/Street children are not known for their soft careful approach when playing so sturdy items are a must. Some of the favorite items have been "Tonka Toy" style cars and lorries that the children sit on and zoom around the house, also footballs, tennis balls and space hoppers.

Toys to give out in the slums

Size

Size is important. We mostly want small toys that can be used as either presents for birthdays, Christmas or other celebrations, Small toys are much easier to even out so that each child gets a similar sized gift. Larger stronger toys would generally be used at 'The Mango House' so all the children could play with them. Large 'TONKA' toys are great and are the most used at the house.

Batteries NOT Included

Generally speaking we would prefer not to have toys that require batteries. These can't really be given as presents as the children's families would unlikely be able to afford to buy them and it increases the costs. However for toys that are based at 'The Mango House' then toys that can be recharged or plugged into the main would be ok as Electricity is generally cheap in India.

Strong Toys

Toys tend not to last very long in the hands of the children. Skipping ropes, cars etc are quickly broken so larger toys are best if they are solid, well made and don't have small items on them which can break. With smaller toys it is not such a problem although we would hate for a child to receive a present and 5 minutes later it's in pieces.

Simplicity

some of the best toys are the simple ones, spinning tops, balls, skipping ropes, footballs, frisbees, balloons etc. Games that can be played outside are also good. Even play tents to shade from the sun, for beach days or to keep the younger children safe. Board games, especially those with small pieces aren't as good as most of the children can' t read english and find instructions difficult to follow. Christmas/Celebration presents - we are always in need of small presents that can be shared out, for the last two years we gave out over 1000 wrapped Christmas presents, this year hopefully the same.! Good things to bring for presents are small toy cars, dolls, balls (Football, Tennis Balls etc), skipping ropes, Balloons (best ones are punch balloons that you bounce against your hand), bangles, pretty hair bobbles/clips for the girls, 'make yourself' aeroplanes, small A5 colouring books (5 - 20 pages). Many of the slums we visit there are from 20 - 60 children, so a collection of similar items are great as we can give each child the same toy.

For 'The Mango House'

We like the children to have a great time at the Mango House, the children do have some firm favourites, including Large metal TONKA toy type toys or large cars which the children zoom around the rooms with them, space hoppers. If anyone has an old scaletrix or train set (fully working as I don't think there are parts readily available in Goa) I am sure the children would love them. On special occasions it might be nice if the children could play computer games (Playstation 2, Xbox, Wii or Gameboy games welcome).

Arts and Crafts

We strongly encourage the children to be creative, so we always appreciate items that can be used in arts and crafts.

Paint

Many of the activities the volunteers do with the children use paint, so large containers of paint would be ideal (like the ones that are used in schools).

A4 Card, A4 Plain Paper, Coloured Card

These are always appreciated. As we have around 50 children that's 50 pieces of paper or card every time we do a project so it quickly gets used up. Card is probably the most useful as this can be hard to find in India... Laminating sheets are also great as we often need to laminate posters and badges for the children. We prefer reams of paper rather then smaller books.

Artistic Materials

Beads, felt, coloured paper/card, cellotape, art straws, pva glue, prit sticks, glitter, paint (like you get in schools) would be great to encourage the children to be creative. The children love getting messy and we don't mind cleaning up after them so anything like this would be great.

IDEAS !

Our volunteers are GREAT, but sometimes they need a little bit of inspiration on what projects would be good to do. We like projects that are simple and can be used in groups of 10 to 15 children, If you have any ideas (with good instructions) then please email us, the more the merrier so please send them into our email address

Rainy day books (with ideas of fun things to do)

Games ideas, Songs books etc would be wonderful. Many of the volunteers that come to help have the heart for volunteer work but have no experience of working in this type of environment. So any resources that give us ideas of things to do would be great

Felts, Pens, Pencils, Crayons

We often receive these items and as such please do not buy these especially, although if you do we would prefer small packets rather than large bulk ones of lower quality as , especially with felt tips they dry up over night due to the hot weather. Packs of 12 Crayons, felts, colouring pencils are ideal as we can give these out as gifts or help fill the students pencil cases at the start of the school term. We also regularly help other charities and schools by donating some of our excess resources to them so nothing is ever wasted.

Good quality metal scissors

We receive many plastic scissors but these do not last long in the children's hands so we would prefer to receive good quality scissors that can be used again and again.

Art Teachers

OK, they might not fit in your luggage but people who can come and spend a day doing an art project would be welcomed.

Medical Items

We spend a great deal of time and money on the children's health. Due to the conditions of their home life it is common place for the children to join us with burns, cuts and skin conditions. Burns and cuts especially are common place as the children are often around open fires and broken glass. Some useful items that are continually in use are listed below.

Betadine Solution

(Dry Spray or powder is ideal to cover open wounds which are very common)

Cotton pads / Cotton Balls

(the type that you use to remove makeup) are ideal as wounds constantly require cleaning.

Children's Vitamins

We try and give vitamins to the children every day, the vitamins available locally are not designed for children so we are always in need of child friendly 'chewable sweet type' vitamins to be brought over. Giving out vitamins every day means we need about 500 vitamins a week, Bassetts Multivitamins are ideal.

Head Lice shampoo

Strong but friendly head lice shampoo/treatment is always needed, the children are constantly picking up 'little hair friends' and they are passed around so quickly. Good quality metal nit combs are also very useful for the house where as cheaper plastic combs are great to give out in the slums.

Alcohol Hand Sanatiser

This is great when treating the children's cuts and burns, as it kills a good selection of germs we always give our hands a rub before and after treating the children.

Small Sterile bandages (2 or 3 inch) and gauze pads

We often have to wrap up severe burns / skin infections & cuts to keep them protected from the dust and dirt that would otherwise infect the wounds. Dry betadine sprays (that create a barrier) or powder are also great as they act as a protective barrier.

Large Fabric Plasters

We find that cheaper smaller plasters do not stick in the conditions in the slum, so we prefer fabric plastic that are stronger and have more sticking power. We often need larger plasters also as many burns/cuts get infected and the plasters are used to keep them clean.

Clothes

Clothes are great to bring, but please think about sizes and style before you pack. It would be a great help if you could separate items out by packing in separate plastic bags (for example girls tops, boys tops, boys trousers, girls trousers etc all in separate bags so they're easier to sort here.

Here's a list of things to think about...

Girls

Girls are very modest in India and as such only feel comfortable in longer skirts/dresses. Many of the clothes we receive are very short mini skirts which really are not suitable and make the girls feel very self conscious. If you are bringing skirts, please make sure they are longer than the knee, even better if they are full length. This isn't such a problem for the younger girls, but please remember that a 6 year old skirt in the UK might fit a 12 year old girl in India. Longer Dresses are Ideal!

Size

The children we help are small, the maximum size should really be to fit an English Boy/Girl of 12 to 13 years of age. This is likely to be ample for all the children we help.

No Adult Clothes (Please)

We do get a good deal of adult clothes, these aren't ideal as they tend to be far too large for the children and also too big for their parents. Anything not suitable is set aside to be given out to the rag pickers or for volunteers to wear in the garden etc. Sorting clothes is a huge job and would be made much easier if we did not receive adult clothes.

Underwear

Underwear is a great thing to bring, but size is important. Most of the children wear underwear that is deigned for much younger children. The UK age for underwear should really be between 1 year and 6 years of age.

No Socks

We prefer not to receive socks as most of the children do not wear them as they either spend most of their time barefoot or with sandals on.

Bra's

we only need small cup sizes or training bra's, again all the children and mothers generally have very small frames so larger cup sizes are not required. Slim thin vests for girls are a great idea as they are often worn in India. under their tops.

Sandals

Footwear, simple sandals and flip flops are mostly used in India, any sizes below size 5 would be best.

Babies Clothes

Size is important!. We prefer to receive baby clothes for very small babies ( 0 to 3 months) or 3 - 6 months maximum, tiny suits are good as we give them out in the government hospitals to the newly born babies. Items designed for older babies, then separate tops and bottoms are best, as all in one suits are just too big.

What Not to Bring : Chocolates / Sweets

I am sure the children love sweets but please do not bring sweets and chocolate especially as many of the children suffer from poor dental hygiene and sweets speed up the decay process. However, as a special treat we do give out sweets during Christmas and Birthday parties (held at the end of each month), Instead of sweets, fruit is an ideal substitute, grapes can be bought at the wholesale market for 250 - 350 Rs for 10 Kg in season, oranges, apples, mangoes & banana's are also a great substitute for sweets. Another option instead of sweets are 'sweet type' chewy vitamins or non-sugar sweets.