« July / August 2008 » |
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IntroductionWe are entering the new tourist season and look forward to meeting up with a few of our supporters this year. Unfortunately Goa and India have been in the newspapers for all the wrong reasons lately and this is likely to have a knock on effect to the number of visitors to the Mango House but please be assured that our work will still go on and we will continue to help the children at the house and those living in the slums we visit.
Thank you to everyone for their continued support and I hope that you enjoy reading this month's newsletter. If you have any queries or comments, then please contact us via the website http://www.childrenwalkingtall.com/Contact-Us.htm. To provide extra safety to the children we have changed or removed their names in this and all future newsletters.
| Introduction | |
| What's Been Happening | |
| Website | |
| Fundraising | |
| Future Plans | |
| What Can You Do? | |
| And Finally | |
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What's Been Happening
T.B.The last few months have seen two of The Mango House children (brothers) diagnosed with T.B. (Tuberculosis). The gravity of this diagnosis was highlighted by the fact that just a few weeks ago one of the fathers from the same slum succumbed to the disease. T.B. is a fatal condition that is unfortunately still common in India.
We took the children to Goa Medical College, where they underwent lengthy testing in order to ascertain the most suitable treatment for their condition. They have now completed two months of treatment, and we expect another four months of treatment to be prescribed before they are given the all clear (fingers crossed). Thankfully the doctor has said that the condition is not contagious in children, so the boys continue to come to the house where they are given their medication and are well fed.
In the last few weeks we had an inspection and the health officer was keen to meet and see the brothers and also the boy who was diagnosed over a year ago with leprosy. The health officer was great and helped us by sending the local TB / leprosy carer to see us. We will continue to follow up on the children's progress and complete the treatment and hope they have a speedy recovery. I would like to thank everyone who has helped with the diagnosis and treatment of these children.
RabiesWe were saddened to find out that one young girl of six had died recently of rabies. She was one of the first children to attend 'The Mango House' but had returned to her village in Karnataka and lived with her grandmother. The girl died after being bitten by a dog and her family did not take her to hospital where she could have received free anti-rabies injections. Her health deteriorated and she died a few weeks later. Unfortunately (and frustratingly) this is common, as many people don't take advantage of these free medications. This case has highlighted the need to educate families about the importance of following up any dog bite with anti-rabies injections.
Another child who currently attends the house has been bitten twice in the last couple of months. We only found out about the first bite after it was too late, but thankfully the dog was negative. Just yesterday he was bitten again and he told us so we took him to the local government hospital for treatment.
Although he was terrified of the first injection and screamed the room down, he was much better with the second and even had the courage to say thank you to the nurse who made him scream. I'm not sure if he knows he still has a few more injections to go....
Panjim Park / Broken Arm As a treat this month we took the children to the park in Panjim. Unfortunately one of the boys slipped and fell from the climbing frame, dislocating and fracturing his elbow. We took him to hospital where he was examined, had the elbow x-rayed and then was taken into surgery where he had three metal pins inserted to hold his bone in place. He was so brave. To support him, his elder brother came and stayed with him in hospital. He was discharged the next morning and returned to The Mango House. We were very proud of the way the children behaved at the park both before and after the accident. Although they were having lots of fun, they did not complain when the visit was cut short and were quick to get back into the van so that we could rush to the hospital. Despite the accident, much fun was had by both the children and the volunteers. The park is a firm favourite with the children, and it gives them the chance to run off some excess energy. The drive back was a quiet and peaceful one, with the majority of the children worn out and fast asleep. Maybe we should take them to the park more often!!! Panjim Park Photos
Swimming Eight of the children who regularly attend The Mango House are going for swimming lessons at the local pool. These lessons are 6 days a week and the children are doing well. Last week the teacher thought them ready to move up to the big pool. This prompted some tears from a couple of the children who were scared, but the initial fear has now passed and they are progressing. We are hoping to see some full lengths swum in the next week or so. Most of the children seem to find difficulty in swimming and breathing at the same time, and so there tends to be a ‘head down and go as fast as you can’ spurt of swimming, followed by a ‘stop and gasp for air’. It makes for interesting viewing and it is sometimes hard not to find it funny. On a serious note, hopefully by the end of the course of lessons, though we may not produce any future Olympians, every child will be able to keep afloat and cover a good distance without panicking. This is the main purpose of offering the children swimming lessons. Swimming is not generally something that Indian children are taught when little, and so many adults can not swim. Hopefully if ever our children were to find themselves in danger they are now better prepared and able to reach safety.
Coogly GooglyLast weekend we took some of the children to Panjim for the Coogly Googly contest. The contest was a variety of singing, dancing and acting, and the children practiced for weeks. Though some of the children were brave enough to sing (without music), the majority had choreographed some impressive dance routines. Unfortunately, a couple of the children were disappointed when their CD didn’t work and so they had to sit and watch the other children dance. All the children involved received a certificate, and to try and make up for their disappointment, we re-enacted Coogly Google at the Mango House on the Monday so that everybody got a change to show off their dance routine and their hard work. The children who had not been able to do it the day before got an extra loud cheer and clap. Yesterday, we received a phone call telling us that three of the boys had been chosen for the semi finals so we are all very excited. This time we will make sure we have two or three copies of the CD to avoid another ‘incident’. Good luck boys.
DentistWe would like to thank Dr Toshepu's International Dental Practice in Calangute for their help during the monsoon (http://www.goadentalclinic.com/). The dental team have continued to provide free treatment to the children, which has included removing bad teeth, filling and for the lucky ones just a little clean here and there. Most of the children have been seen. Thank you to everyone who has made this possible.
Bamboo MadnessI would like to thank Lee, Richard, Cameron and John who helped create the Bamboo creations that are now pride of place in the Mango House and it's garden. Lee who volunteered with us took charge and built several items. We now have a beautifully finished Bamboo fruit holder for the kitchen which keeps the fruit fresher for longer (keeping it off the ground), and a pair of bamboo goals for the garden. The goals have been finished off in the last weeks by having netting fixed. Robert and Ali also created another football set for the back garden so the children can play sheltered from the sun when it gets too hot.
VolunteersThank you to all the volunteers who have helped us over the monsoon. Special thanks go to Sarah & Lee, Justine, Gita, Sam, John, Richard and Cameron. Cameron is still with us for a few more days but will sadly be going on Friday. Volunteers do make a huge difference and we do really appreciate the work they do especially for those who are willing to spend their time in Goa during the monsoon.
We have also had several volunteers join us over the last few months. A warm welcome to Meiling, Sally, Monika, Helen, Jo and Sophie who will join Abby. Sophie is a return volunteer who will be managing the volunteers for this year. She has just completed her masters in development studies and is keen to take on new jobs.
Volunteers View - John It is not easy to describe Mango House..... it provides a wide and varied basket of services; the best way I could say it, is that it is a day centre for disadvantaged kids providing food, clothing, medical assistance, learning activities, recreational activities, homework support and a certain amount of TLC. But most of all as I see it, it gives them a reprieve from the harsh realities of their daily lives. To say that their lives are tough is a total understatement.
The Mango House itself is a grand old Portuguese house that was renovated some four or five years ago now. From the front door, you enter a large reception room, which is also the room for art and craft activities, TV/video viewing and the area for group assemblies three times a day. A door to the left is the main teaching room that also houses lots of toys and recreational equipment. To the right of reception is the main office and an area for the kids to store their personal effects.....clothes, school equipment, toiletries, etc. Walking through reception, you come to a long, narrow room that is used as the dining room, and sometimes a race track for the kids when they need to burn off excess energy. The kids and staff sit on the floor along the walls on both sides to enjoy morning juice, lunch and afternoon milk and fruit. The lunch meals are generally sensational. Siroja is a local lady who cooks up healthy and varied meals every day.....she is well loved by the children, the staff and the volunteers. A door on the left of the dining room leads to the bathroom which has four stalls, each containing a toilet and showering facilities. Beyond the dining room is the kitchen which has two large gas burners and some simple shelving, a fridge and a water filtering system. No microwaves or dishwashers in sight here!!!
Most of the kids who come to the Mango House live in either one of the two local 'slums'; Karaswada or Crossroads. The houses here are constructed of pieces of old metal, plastic pieces, thatching, palm fronds and sheets of blue plastic, which are meant to act as a water barrier to stop the monsoon rains from entering via the roof. Most of the homes that I have entered to date, consist of one large room that is a bedroom, lounge room, dining room and kitchen to families of anywhere up to eight people, and possibly more that I do not know about. The rooms are well kept and the floor is regularly swept to remove the constant flow of sand, grit and mud that is so easily carried inside on the soles of your feet. From what I could see, few places have any electricity and bathrooms are nonexistent . I am told that communal toilets exist ( I haven't seen these yet) and bathing is done at the local water hole near the main traffic road, which is also the place where trucks, buses and cars are cleaned to remove mud, animal droppings, and general litter. Whilst the floors of most homes are very clean, the laneways in the slums immediately outside the front doorways, are full of cow dung, mud, food scraps, general trash and childrens' urine. When it buckets down during the monsoon, the laneways become rapid streams of gushing water that quickly seeps all these contents through and onto the flooring of any low-lying resident homes. Parents are very generous and occasionally invite us into their home for something to drink or eat. I am not sure if they are pleased to have different company or if they are just proud to show off their family to the volunteers that filter through from month to month. It has been suggested that it is some sort of social 'occasion' to have European folk into their home....something to gossip about to the Singhs down the road. (I have no idea if there is any truth in this theory.) In any case, they are very generous to be offering all they have to visitors, considering they are not wealthy people.
As I read back the last paragraph, it would be easy to assume that the 'slums' are places of gloom, doom and sadness; but in fact, it is not like that at all. As you will see from these photos, the kids are usually buoyant and smiling, and ready to play a game or have a joke. The adults that we come across during the first aid clinic are chatty and appreciative, and the social interaction there is always positive and supportive.
Yesterday, Cameron and I were invited inside the home of a family. The house was a single room, measuring 15 feet long by 10 feet across. On the floor was a piece of matting which was spread out so that we wouldn't have to sit on the bare cement. It was as thin as a piece of bed sheeting but to them it was a welcoming mat and a sign of respect. After the greetings were finished and we were introduced to all in attendance, we talked about the kids and the activities we do with them each day at the Mango House. Despite the language barriers, there was much laughing and hand waving as the family members tried to make sense of our ranting and play-acting. Conversation finally dribbled out to nothing and it was time to go. This wasn't a bad thing as the heat and the cow 'aroma' was fairly overwhelming for us inexperienced folk.....and the family were keen to start cooking their evening meal before dark.
The majority of Mango House kids attend regular schools between 8am and noon, Monday through to Saturday. After school, they come to Mango House from approximately 12.45pm to 5pm, Monday to Friday. There are about 10 kids who are either too young to go to school or who attend school in the afternoons; they arrive at Mango House about 10am. Boys have access to the showers on Tuesday and Friday, whilst the girls shower on Mondays and Thursdays.....for some, this will be the only two decent wash ups that they will get for the entire week. All receive a delicious meal every day they attend, and seconds and thirds are not unheard of!! It is unknown how many kids may not eat another substantial meal during the day, other than that received at the Mango House.....but I would hazard a guess that it would be a large percentage. There are currently about 45 children on the register at Mango House, but absenteeism is high both there and at school, as the pressure for parents to send their kids to work is ever-present. The kids must attend school on any given day, or they are not allowed to attend the house for that day.....an incentive to keep going to school, despite pressure from home. Kids can earn extra rupees for their family by collecting rubbish from the streets, in particular glass and plastic bottles; they also sell trinkets and charms to tourists on the main beaches, including Calangute Beach. Another incentive for the kids to attend the Mango House is a reward system for the kids....stars are presented each afternoon to kids who complete work, show good manners, regular attendance, etc and are able to buy from a range of goods - clothing, toiletries, toys, school equipment, etc, when they have accumulated enough stars. Alternatively, if they have been naughty (masti), they may have to do extra work, work during free time, write lines or even spend time away from the Mango House. (Chutti.) |
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Website
Children Walking Tall LinksWe are still promoting our links page which we hope will be used more and more during the next few months. If you are a webmaster or update your own blog then please do think about adding a link to children walking tall on your pages. We have designed a few simple logos that can be placed on your sites, It's a simple process, just use the link below to see some examples. If you are having any problems then do drop us a line.
Please Link to Children Walking Tall
PicturesThere has been four sets of new photos added in the last couple of months, these have been :
 World Goa DayThe Children celebrated World Goa Day. Rene Barreto continues to champion World Goa Day and invited us to join in once again this year. The children were taken on a little outing to the park in the morning and then were split into three groups, which revolved around three different activities. Inside the children were drawing World Goa Day posters and making friendship bracelets, outside there was 5 a side football / dodge ball (depending on how much energy the groups had and finally parachute games in the forest. The day saw a beautiful chicken curry lunch and fruit and ice cream in the evening. Thank you to all the volunteers and staff for all their help and I wish everyone a happy "World Goa Day"... |
 Independance DayWe celebrate India's Indpendance day at the Mango house this year. The children joined in by singing the nation anthem and hosting the Indian flag in the garden. The children stood round the outline of India which was drawn on the ground at the front of the house. Thank you to Lee, Richard and Cameron for helping make the bamboo flag pole. We were also joined by Rough Track productions who recorded the days events.
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 Clothes Giving In MargaoWe were lucky to have a few dry days before the end of the monsoon so we thought we'd take the chance to give some clothes, soap and toothbrushes out in the slums. We visited five or six areas and gave out a good selection to the children living in the slums. Here are a few pictures from the day. Two of our children joined us and made sure everything ran smoothly. Thank you to the children, volunteers and staff who helped on the day
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Panjim ParkThe Monsoon has finished, the sun is out, so it's 'Panjim Going'.... :o) The children had a day off school and we took the children to the park. The volunteers staff and children had a great day. Unfortunately one of the boys did fall and fractured his arm so we rushed him to the hospital.
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 Taxi Price List
The taxi price list has been updated. The price list now includes several hotels in each location and also the price for a taxi from the airport. I hope this is some help to our visitors and the visitors to Goa.
 What We Do / About Us
We have updated the 'About Us' page, it now talks about everything we do including outreach work, the mango house and who we are... This is to give new supporters a better idea of what we do and why we do it...
 Needslist
The charities needs list has had a bit of a facelift recently and had a few new items added. Our biggest needs are the day to day things required for the children at the house, fruit, milk, food, medicine, rent etc. Please have a look. There are a few new items but usually we require normal weekly and monthly and has also had a few items added. |
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Fundraising and Donations
White ElephantWe would like to thank Jatin from the White Elephant in Baga for his continued help. Last month he was kind enough to donate some of the monthly provisions list which included rice, dal, sugar, wheat flour, washing soap/powder, chana, juice, papads, pickle etc. He has also invited us to join him after the opening of his new venue in Calangute.
Shirts from Thunderbird Nursery SchoolWe would like to thank Betty and staff from Thunderbird Nursery School in Chicago (US) who gave 50 T-Shirts to Abby (one of our volunteers) for the children. The bright red t-shirts were handed out in October and can be seen in the photo below. Thank you Betty for your generosity, the children will be taking them home to wear.
Volunteers doing that little bit extraLucy was kind enough to write this for the newsletter:
"This time last year, myself (Lucy) and Matt arrived in Goa, for the start of 4 fantastic months volunteering for Children Walking Tall. On our return to the UK we decided to arrange an event to raise some funds, so that Rob and co could continue with their wonderful work. To celebrate our time in India we hosted an Indian themed night with a meal, raffle and quiz at Leicester’s finest Indian restaurant ‘Harmony Club and Restaurant’. The night was a great success, 65 friends and family attended and £1,200 was raised. We would like to thank all those that attended and helped to raise this amazing donation. We would like to thank KP and all those that worked that night to help make it so successful and enjoyable. Also thanks to all those who helped out, sold tickets and donated raffle prizes. And a very special thank you to Vaneesha and Alec Wilson for their generous donations, it is greatly appreciated".
Donation in Memory of Yogish SahotaYogish Sahota sadly passed away earlier this year. Gee Sahota, his daughter and ex-volunteer suggested that donations could be given in his memory to Children Walking Tall. We have received several donations via the website and last month received a donation from the members of the Queen Mary University Of London, the letter attached simply saying 'in memory of our late, much loved colleague Yogish Sahota'. Our thoughts are with Gee, his family and friends.
Cake Sale - Gloucestershire Council, Department for Children and Young PeopleWe would like to thank Mel and everyone from South Gloucestershire Council, Department for Children and Young People who raised £225 on the 25th July through their now regular cake sale. Thank you everyone....
Thank You to Everybody We would like to thank everybody who has helped to raise funds and awareness over the last two months. It is becoming increasingly difficult to write details about all the donations we receive due to the amount of work involved. If you are kind enough to arrange an event for Children Walking Tall and would like your event to be included in the newsletter, then please write a small paragraph about how the event went and who was involved and email it to us. The newsletters are very time consuming to put together so this would be a great help to us and allow more time to be spent helping the children. |
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Future Plans
Rebuilding the tree houseThe HMS Illustrious crew came out and built a fabulous tree house for the children which was named HMS Mango, it was a great achievement for a days work. It was used everyday by the children but unfortunately when the rain came it became worse for wear so we took it down for safety reasons. But this is not the last you will see of the tree house as we have stored the bamboo and hope to rebuild it at the end of the monsoon and get it 'ship shape' for the new season. Thank you to all the crew who helped so much on the tree house and all their projects around the house.
Vocational TrainingWe are hoped to help even more children with access to skills which they can then use in jobs in the future. Most of our children are still too young to work but we have already helped a couple of the elder children with jobs locally. We hope to get sewing lessons started shortly for both boys and girls and more projects are planned for the future.
ChristmasI know Christmas is a long time away but I am not sure how many gifts we will be able to do this year due to the drop in tourism (by around 20%) to Goa and also the increasing costs in fuel which will inevitably have an affect on the extra luggage allowance that the airlines will be willing to give. As such for those who are visiting it might be worth buying small gifts here rather than bringing them with you unless you are sure you will have extra space in your luggage. For ideas of what to bring do please visit our Charity Luggage page |
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What Can You Do?
Monthly SponsorshipThe charity has grown so much since it started, making it more important than ever to keep a solid base to work from. With this in mind, we are looking for people to give monthly donations so that a core fund can be relied on each month. Currently, people are donating from £2 to £40 per month. This money would help towards feeding the children each day by providing a morning snack, a main meal for lunch, and a second snack in the afternoon. It would also help provide vitamins, health care and allow money to be set aside to pay rent, electricity and the water bills every month.
For more Information : http://www.ChildrenWalkingTall.com/Donations.htm
Easy SearchUse Easy Search and raise funds for Children Walking Tall at the same time... Just Bookmark this link (http://cwt.easysearch.org.uk/), or make it your home page. Easysearch Version 2.0 is a now 'super' search engine, which cleverly combines the strengths of several search providers together - Yahoo!, MSN Live Search, Ask.com and many more. So, when you use easysearch to search the Web, we'll track down only the most relevant and accurate results, which means you'll find what you are looking for quickly and easily every time - all in one 'easy' search!
Also are you buying insurance, apply for a bank card or just playing the national lottery? - Perhaps you can help by using one of these offers to raise even more money for Children Walking Tall
EBay For Charity We have registered with MissionFish to allow us to receive donations from eBay sales. You can now sell an item on eBay and donate from 10% to 100% of the final sale price to support our work with street children in India. All you have to do is set up an account; find all those items that are tucked away under your bed and sell them on ebay.
Visit Ebay for charity (Children Walking Tall) for more information
If you have something to sell, and want to support Children Walking Tall at the same time, then please add us to receive a portion of the selling price.
Wisdom TrustWould you like to raise money for Children Walking Tall for FREE, just by voting for us on 'The Wisdom Trust?' If you would then Click here, or find out more in the details below....
Spread The WordAn easy way to help Children Walking Tall is to just spread the word - just let more people know about what we do! If you've received this newsletter by email, then simply forward it to your friends; otherwise send a link to our website, as this and our older newsletters are always available on our website www.ChildrenWalkingTall.com
UK Fundraising TeamBecome a member of our UK fundraising team by raising money or organising fundraising events. A good way to help is by finding something that you enjoy doing and getting people to give you money for doing it! For example, you could organise a night out, an Indian evening or just have a party. There are lots more ideas in our Online Fundraising Pack |
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And Finally...
Newsletter By EmailIf you would like to receive these monthly newsletters by email please Contact Us. Please put the subject “Join Newsletter” so that we can add your address to the mailing list. Send us the email address you wish the newsletter to go to. If you have received this email by mistake, or wish to cancel your monthly newsletter then please let us know by Email with the subject “Cancel Newsletter” Many Thanks from everyone at Children Walking Tall.
Contact Us Children Walking Tall,
'The Mango House',
H.No 148/3,
Near Vrundavan Hospital,
Karaswada, Mapusa
,Bardez, Goa
Web : www.ChildrenWalkingTall.com
Tel : (0091) 9822 124 802 |
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