« September / October 2008 » |
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IntroductionWell it's getting very close to Christmas so things have really become very busy with visitors, party arrangements, Christmas present sorting and lots more. Goa and India has been in the newspapers for all the wrong reasons lately and this is surely going to have a knock on effect to visitors. We are still here and will continue to provide a solid safe base for the children we help.you are sending items by post then please do include an email address in the letter if you have one as it makes our work so much easier. 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. |
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What's Been HappeningDiwali (Hindu) and Ed (Muslim) CelebrationsMost of the children at 'The Mango House' are either Hindu or Muslim and both have had the chance to celebrate festivals at this time of year. The Hindu families have been celebrating Diwali and the Muslims have celebrated Ramadan and Eid.This year we celebrated by giving out food items in both the slums we work with everyday. Each family received rice, oil, beaten rice, sugar, rawa and biscuits. As a treat for staff and volunteers we were lucky enough to be invited to the Karaswada slum to join in the Diwali festivities. As the van pulled into the slum the children ran out to meet us, showed off their best dresses, thrust sweets into our hands and took us on a tour of their homes to see the decorations of rainbow coloured paper chains, lanterns and shrines offering fruit, flowers and incense to the Gods. Every party needs music so one of the children’s brothers got the stereo system up and running outside and we were all soon showing off our moves on a makeshift dance floor to the latest line up of Hindi dance tunes. Having worked up quite an appetite we were then invited to join the children on specially laid out rush matting to enjoy a delicious Diwali dinner of Goan rice, vegetable curry and sweet rice from banana leaf plates – it was one of the tastiest meals we’ve had in Goa! After a desert of sweets and more dancing we left the celebrations in full swing and headed home; feeling overwhelmed with the generosity shown by the children and their families and honoured to have been able to share their Diwali celebrations. Feet Inspection We would like to thank Dr Martin for his help recently. Dr Martin is a foot specialist from the UK who comes to help during his holidays in Goa. Previously he had helped one of our children who has had a club foot since birth. This time he was able to provide a quick check of all the children at the house. It came as quite a surprise that some of the children had one leg longer than the other, actually three siblings from one family had a longer right leg. More seriously though was that one of the girls has a double curvature of the spine. We are currently following this up with an orthopaedic surgeon to see what steps are required to correct her spine.For more information on Martyn then please visit his website here www.healthyfeet.co.uk/ School HolidaysFor the past three weeks, the children have been on school holidays. This is always a hectic time, the first week being a chance to relax and have some well earned play time, the second and third having forty rather restless children looking to be entertained. So, holiday time tends to be trip time – much to the pleasure of both the children and the volunteers (who sometimes act like bigger children than the children). Recently we have visited Bondla Wildlife Reserve, Dona Paula, and the water park.BondlaAfter an hour and a half in a very hot, very noisy van, the jungle was a great place to let the children run around and burn off some energy. We saw Elephants, Crocodiles, a Bear, Leopards, Wild Boars, Monkeys, and a couple of Giant Red Squirrels. We also saw a King Cobra and a huge Python, both of which prompted some terrified screams from the children and staff. It was a long day – three hours of it travelling – but the children enjoyed it, and the next day they organised themselves into groups to deliver a presentation on each of the animals they had seen. The presentation on monkeys – and the fact that humans descended originally from apes – caused great confusion and prompted a thousand and one questions. Trying to explain the theory of evolution to small children in a foreign language proved rather tricky for the volunteers, and by the end everyone was more confused than before they began. We have started to think that the zoo is coming to us now though as we have recently found a couple of black scorpions, couple of snakes and a very well camouflaged stick insect. Obviously this is on top of all the dogs, monkeys and cows that roam freely around the Mango House!Water ParkAs a special treat we took two groups of children and staff to the water park in Arpora which proved to be a very popular trip. The children spent a fun packed afternoon speeding down the slides, splashing about in the pools and working on their swimming. They love the water and it’s really encouraging to see the improvements in their swimming technique and confidence. The trip gave the children the much needed opportunity to let off some steam before going back to school. Some of the older kids (Ali and Savita) enjoyed it nearly as much as the children.Roughtrack ProductionsDuring the monsoon we were contacted by Roughtrack productions who were setting up their new business of producing promotional videos for NGO's and other clients. As they were starting off they needed a few sample videos for use on their website and offered to do a small 10 minute video for Children Walking Tall, free of cost. Brian and Sebastian joined us in mid August and spent 10 days with us following what we do and capturing it on film. The slums are far from the nicest places to live but during the monsoon they are even worse. Crossroads is probably the worst as it has a constant stream of dirty water flowing through the middle of the slum, right outside their front doors.The guys filmed a range of our activities including the work we do in the slum, The Mango House and caught us on Independence day (India's independence from British rule) where we celebrated with flag hoisting, playing games and shared a cake decorated in the Indian Flag colours. I would like to thank Brian and Sebastian for all their time and effort in producing the video and of course the volunteers, staff and children for being the stars. A copy of the video is now available on our homepage to give you an insight into Children Walking Tall and the work we do... Charity Video for Children Walking Tall in India A losing battleUnfortunately one of the children has been taken out from "The Mango House" to go to work instead; we spoke at great length with her mother but could not persuade her to keep her daughter at school and coming to The Mango House. Her mother said "she needs to learn how to pick rags so she can bring money in for the family", unfortunately by knowing the family it is likely that most of the money she will earn will then go on alcohol to feed her mothers addiction and she will not save any, so each day will be the same with no hope of getting out of the cycle they call life. We tried to get the police involved and the local police station called the mother in to have a talk and amazingly gave the mother 'rags' to sell so instead of convincing her mother that making her child work was not acceptable (which is against the law here in Goa) she was able to sell the rags she was given and make a profit. We have continued to follow this up but there is apathy surrounding these cases which steal the childhood from so many children. Just after a week of leaving us the girl was threatened and dragged into a car by a man, just showing how dangerous it can be walking the streets to collect rags.Sad newsThis last year has seen three fathers of the children we help die, the first died in his sleep, the second died of T.B. and the most recent committed suicide by hanging himself just outside the home of his family. He was young, probably only 28 and had had an argument with his wife earlier, at 2am one of the neighbours walked out and saw him hanging from the tree. He leaves behind 3 young children, the eldest of which (5 Years) comes to "The Mango House" and he also leaves behind his pregnant wife who has recently had an abortion as not to give any other families a reason to doubt where the unborn child came from. The children have been coping surprisingly well and took a short trip back to their village to mourn with family. Now back at the slum life is back to the same routine.Sewing LessonsWe have bought two second hand sewing machines and another one was kindly donated by Priya Govekar which has enabled us to start sewing lessons for a group of the children.The children started by hand stitching newspaper to make trousers, tops and hats, once the children passed this basic test they then moved onto using material in the sewing machines. Our sewing teacher - Sapna now takes classes 6 days a week and the class is progressing well. We hope that the skills learnt will enable them to take on their own sewing projects and even with the possibility of getting a job in the industry at a later date once they leave school. BicyclesDuring the monsoon the children have been cooped up inside The Mango House and as the rains came to an end we thought it would be a great idea to purchase a couple of bikes for the children. The first two bikes were bought in August and were an instant hit with the children, so much so that there was a constant stream of requests from 40 children to play and obviously not everyone can play at once.Sally one of our Volunteers kindly decided to purchase 4 more smaller bikes for the younger ones and we now have a good range. We have created a rota so each child gets to play as the 'sharing' system had a few flaws... :o).... In the last month we were happy to receive one more bicycle that was donated by Caroline and the Timeout Foundation. Unfortunately we have not received it yet as the original one had to go back when a small problem was found, the company sent it back to the Manufacturer. Hopefully, in the next week we should have it's replacement. As well as riding the bikes round the garden we also take the older children on rides around the local villages which they all enjoy. it's also a great way to see the scenery and obviously a way to keep fit. Thank you to everyone who helped acquire the bikes and to the volunteers who helped the children in the early days and have the back ache to prove it :) VisitorsWe would like to thank all the visitors who have come to see us in the last couple of months, Some just come to say hello and to see the work we do, often with the thought of volunteering at a later date, others have been kind enough to bring us donations of toothpaste, craft items and also Toys which we'll wrap up for Christmas. The work we do is all down to the generosity and help our supporters provide, so thank you all.Tree HouseEarlier this year you might recall that 52 sailors from HMS Illustrious came to the Mango House and helped out for the day. One of their projects was a tree house at the front of the garden. Unfortunately it did not survive the monsoon and had to be taken down for safety. We have however started work on it's replacement. With the help of volunteers and staff we have already constructed a base for the tree house and hope to have at least one storey added to it in the next week. One of our volunteers, Alex is in charge (as he calls it his baby) so we hope it will be a great hit once it's complete.Giving Out ClothesSeason time tends to bring many visitors to the Mango House, many of who donate school supplies, toys and clothes. Though we are grateful for all the donations we receive, sometimes certain clothes are unsuitable for the children who attend the Mango House. The clothes may be too big, or too short or revealing – even the small girls tend not to like skirts or dresses that are above the knee. Not wanting to see these clothes go to waste, we collect them together, and every so often make trips to different slums to distribute them. This month we were lucky enough to have enough clothes to visit 4 or 5 local slums. Unfortunately, we had to leave the first slum we visited after 5 minutes as everything got a little chaotic with people pushing and grabbing. Though this is somewhat understandable, it can be dangerous for the little children who get pushed to the front by their parents. The last thing we would want is for any child to get hurt. The rest of the morning was a little less stressful, and interestingly, at each of the slums whenever things got a little rowdy there was always one man or older boy who seemed to take control, calm things down and get the people into lines. All in all, we distributed full outfits (tops, bottoms and underwear) to roughly 150 children and 100 adults. Despite the chaotic start, this proved to be a success all round and everyone seemed very happy with their new clothes. See photos from giving out clothes in the slumsIn the newsChildren Walking Tall has recently been in the local news as we were visited by 2 reporters and tv stations recently. One article which appeared in the Herald entitled "Poor Kids Walk Tall" can be found by using the link. It wasn't quite accurate but did put over a good idea which will hopefully help the work we do locally.VolunteersI would like to thank all of our recent volunteers who have spent 3 months or more with us. This next month will see a couple of our current volunteers finish their time, a huge thank you to Sally, Monika and Jo who will be sorely missed. Alex, Jenny, Jason and Catherine have joined us recently. Alex and Jason will be taking charge of maintenance in the garden which will be a great help whereas Jenny, who volunteered for us earlier this year will be concentrating on activities for the children along with Sophie and the Gang. Catherine who has a lot of experience with activities will undoubtedly be a great help with ideas to keep the children happy!Volunteer View - SophieI first volunteered with CWT last year during the monsoon. Now I'm back to work a full year, and Goa during season time is a lot different. On the plus side, it is sunny instead of constantly raining, and there is more to do, but on the downside, the beaches are too busy (with both Indian and Western tourists); every ten seconds a man shouts 'taxi?' at you; and everything costs twice as much. But I'm not complaining. It is nice to be back at The Mango House and see how the charity has developed in the year since I left. I was pleased to see that as well as the basic service provision that has always been the charities' focus; new initiatives have been put into place, attempting to help the children longer term. I was particularly impressed by the 'Bank' that is now up and running, which gives the children a place to safely deposit money they earn from washing cars and rag picking, and is hopefully teaching them the merit of saving income. Although the children do come from extremely poor families, the parents do work and bring in an income (albeit a modest one). Therefore their poverty is not always due to lack on income, but is instead the result of irresponsible spending and a reluctance to save with their minds on the short term rather than saving for the future. Hopefully the CWT 'Bank' - which keeps the children’s money safe and also offers interest on their savings - will have a positive impact and help change these present minded behaviour patterns. As well as the Bank, we have also been trying to think of initiatives that may prove helpful to the children in the long term and hopefully keep them in school and away from the rag picking which often causes them to leave school. These initiatives include offering sewing classes to the girls and mechanics classes to the boys, so that the children have at least a basic interest (and hopefully skill) in some area that could act as a livelihood. Aside from these plans, things around the Mango House haven't changed. It was nice to see some familiar faces but then at the same time meet the new children and make some new friends.My role has changed this year and there is a bit more office work but I am enjoying learning about the planning and organisation that goes on behind the fun. I am looking forward to my year here, and although the crowded beaches and tourist prices are annoying, I'm sure that by the time the Monsoon comes and I'm soaked through and there is nothing to do, I will be longing for Sundays spent fighting for room on the beach, overpriced tourist tat and over excited taxi drivers. We'll see. |
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WebsiteChildren Walking Tall VideoAs mentioned earlier, Roughtrack productions have created a fantastic video which is now available on our homepage. It's 10 minutes long and gives an insight into the work we do her in India... For those who have visited us, you might even see a face or two you recognise. The video has currently been viewed 419 times. You can view the video from our website, or directly via youtube with the link below (Click the picture)
CWT Christmas CardsWe have created a couple of Christmas cards (pictures) which can be sent out this year. Please use the following link to view the 'cards' that are available. Thank you to all and best wishes this Christmas time.Phoning IndiaHave you ever wanted to phone us in India but were afraid of the cost? Worry no more! - Those great guys at OurFavouritecompanies.com have been kind enough to allow us to use a section of their list on our website. So now you can see the top three offers for dialling Indian mobiles from a UK landline. At the time of writing that was an astonishing 1p per minute. Below are details of their current offers. To call us, simply dial one of the access numbers below, follow the instructions and then dial 0091 9822 124 802 and get through to our Goa office. But please remember that we're five and a half hours in front of UK time! :o)
Weather In GoaWe thought it would be useful to give visitors and volunteers an idea of what the weather is like in Goa each month. We now have details on Average Daily Sunshine Hours, Rainfall (cm), Daily Temperature (C), Sea Temperature (C) and finally Humidity %. Often people visit India in August and expect it to be sunshine and beach time, which it rarely is that time of year... These are averages and as today and yesterday prove, nothing is ever precise as thunderstorms and rain have hit Goa in this week (Beginning of December) which is very unusual. Weather Info and More for GoaChildren Walking Tall LinksIt is great to see that a few people have added our logo and link pictures to their websites and blogs - Thanks guys! We would still like to see a few more out there if there is anyone who can help. Below is one example and there are lots more links to chose from on our website.Animated CWT Logo 128x106 pixels * When Selected Press Ctrl-C to copy to clipboard PicturesThere has been 3 sets of new photos added in the last couple of months, these have been :
Volunteer ExperiencesFour more volunteer experiences have come through. The four include Lucy, Sara & Lee, Caroline and Cameron. Hopefully their words will help future volunteers decide if Children Walking Tall is right for them. The main thing to remember before you apply to volunteer is that it is not a holiday, working with the children is hard work, hugely enjoyable but hard. Kate summed it up recently by saying"Yes there will be support and guidance, but a lot of what you get out of your volunteering experience will depend on what you are willing to put into it! The two biggest skills everyone coming to volunteer at Children Walking Tall should bring with them are ENTHUSIASM and IDEAS!" Click here for Volunteer Experiences |
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Fundraising and DonationseBay 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. 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
Over the next few weeks we will be very busy preparing for Christmas! - Yes it's that time of year again, we will start the wrapping and hope to give out over 500 presents this year. If you're arriving in Goa before Christmas and have any spare room in your luggage we would be happy to receive any child related toys, small simple items like balls, toy cars, toy dolls, skipping ropes, Frisbees and Balloons etc are ideal. |
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What Can You Do?Add a Link to our website Do you have your own website, blog or have a say on a company website? If the answer is yes then please add a link to Children Walking Tall. We have a collection of links that you can use, or if you want something designed for an offer, 5% goes to charity, or £1 for every order goes to charity then do let us know and we will make a link that fits your website.
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. 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.htmSpread 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 |
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And Finally...Newsletter By EmailIf you have received this email by mistake, or wish to change your newsletter subscription then please fill in the online form on our website ( www.ChildrenWalkingTall.com/Newsletters.htm ).Many Thanks from everyone at Children Walking Tall. Contact UsChildren 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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