January 2012

Introduction

As we came to the end of 2011 like most people it was time to reflect on the old year and to look forward to the new with anticipation. Whilst the first month of the New Year has already passed we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to say thank you to each and every supporter for all that you have done for us in 2011. Whether you have volunteered at or visited Mango House, done voluntary work for the UK Charity, made a financial contribution, fundraised, taken Charity luggage and given gifts in kind to Mango House, spread the word, inspired others or just followed our work with interest we are truly grateful that you have supported us and hope that you will continue to do so in future. We wish all our supporters a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year.

The end of 2011 saw a change to the trustees of Children Walking Tall. Pat Lyon leaves the Charity after over seven years of stewardship. Pat was a founding trustee and was there from the beginning when Children Walking Tall had to rely on people like her doing car boot sales every week just to make ends meet. Pat was the Secretary of the Charity until very recently and has worked quietly in the background for the benefit of the children the Charity helps. We sincerely thank her for her efforts and hope she manages to find a little more time now to enjoy her many other interests. We also welcomed Annette Grace as a new trustee. Annette is an ex volunteer of Children Walking Tall and before retirement worked for a local authority social services team as a Personal Advisor to young people and looked after children.

By the time you read this newsletter Christmas is probably becoming a distant memory. Anyone fortunate enough to have spent time at Mango House in the build up to Christmas, however, and on the day itself would no doubt tell you that Christmas time at Mango House is an unforgettable experience and for some the Christmas of a lifetime. Although few of you were there this Christmas we hope all of you enjoy seeing and reading about the Christmas celebrations below.

News from Mango House

Hi, Savita here.

Firstly, I wanted to say thank you to all of those who have visited us at Mango House since the tourist season began. Mango House takes on a very different atmosphere once visitors start arriving and its been my pleasure to meet many supporters in person. I really appreciate all of the items and donations which people brought to Mango House and those who took time out from their holiday to put on an activity for our children – all these things make a difference to children’s lives and I hope as you read this newsletter you will see what people’s kindness can achieve.

I hope to meet many more of you before the season is over. If you would like to visit us we are open from Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm but do please call in advance so I can be sure to be there to meet you. You can find our location, directions and contact phone number here:-

 http://www.childrenwalkingtall.com/Location.htm

The last three months at Mango House have passed very quickly indeed. At the time the last newsletter was issued we were midway through the Diwali holidays. The children are always full of energy when they are off school for any length of time and we try to arrange some outings to break up the holiday. Before the children went back to school for the new term we were able to take them all on a second beach trip and on a visit to Splashdown Water Park at Arpora.

Children's Day

India celebrated Children’s Day on 14th November. Special fun programmes are arranged all over the country to celebrate the importance of children and Children Walking Tall was no exception to the rule. We were delighted that Childline asked us to join their Childline Se Dosti programme (Friendship with Childline) and that they provided a children’s party at the local field on the day itself. The children had an afternoon of fun and games and enjoyed a special cake in honour of their special day.

Christmas Giving

We were overwhelmed to receive 1,090 gifts and toys to give out this Christmas. Our only expenditure in support of Christmas Giving was the purchase of some toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap and bubbles which were added to each present and the purchase of fruit which was also given out on the day.

All the volunteers were keen to have the chance to help give out the gifts and duly arrived at 8.30 each morning the week before Christmas to help Ali load the van before heading off to distribute the gifts in slums in Panjim, Betim. Chimbal, Canca Para and around Baga, Calangute and Mapusa. At the end of the week we gave out gifts in the two local slums we support to the 50 or so children who don’t attend school and who wouldn’t attend our Christmas Party.

As you can imagine it requires a huge effort to wrap and distribute all the presents and to continue with the normal Mango House routine whilst this goes on and I have to say thank you to all the Mango House staff for working extra hours to get the job done, to the volunteers for their extra efforts and also to Dashya and her team for the many hours they put in wrapping the presents.

To see more photos of our Christmas Giving please click on the Christmas giving photo in the website section below.

A Magical Christmas Day

Preparations for Christmas Day began in the month of October. A hall was booked for the party, a special Christmas menu was planned, outfits for around 50 boys purchased and girls measured in order to start stitching around 50 churidor sets. In the days leading up to Christmas our volunteers set about making a Christmas Banner for the stage and worked with the children from both slums to make all the little stockings, Christmas trees, wreathes and stars that adorned it. Click on the photo here to see an enlarged version.

Around 105 children assembled bright and early outside Mango House and headed off to a local hall wearing their brand new Christmas outfits. As you can imagine the children were very excited. On arrival the older children greeted the volunteers with a handshake and wished each of them a Merry Christmas. The celebrations got underway with the serving of samosas and a welcome song was performed by the children who attend the local Dr Ambedkar’s school.

The day’s entertainment then began with a number of singing and dancing performances by the children. Not to be left out our House Father “Ali sir” donned a dress and performed a surprise sketch and our staff and volunteers each put on dance routines which they had been secretly rehearsing. We were delighted that Sesa Youth joined us for the day and gave out general knowledge books, fruit and biscuits to all the children. After a special lunch traditional games were played before we were all captivated by a magician.

The highlight of the act came when he invited a girl and a boy to join him and asked each of them if they had bought the other a Christmas present. They of course replied that they hadn't. He proceeded to magic up a beautiful hat which he gave the boy to give to the girl. He did some more magic to produce a gift for the girl to give to the boy and duly produced an over large pair of pink pants resulting in howls of laughter amongst the children.

As the day drew to its close all the staff and volunteers assembled on stage with the boys who were celebrating birthdays in December. We sang the birthday song and cut a very special chocolate Christmas cake. It was the time all the children had been waiting for - the Christmas Father arrived along with some very well stuffed sacks of presents and each child received a gift. The day ended with cake, ice cream and fruit. At 6 o’clock we left the hall a tired and happy band having enjoyed a truly magical day.

Do check out the photo sets of our celebrations which you can access by clicking the photos in the website section below.

 

Karate Kid

Prakash is a 17 year old orphan. He has two brothers and sisters and lives with his elder married sister. He loves to play cricket and football. He is a great fan of karate too and as a result he asked if we would support him to go for karate classes. We were happy to help and are thrilled to report that in recent months Prakash is now competing at national level. He recently competed in Bangalore and returned with the Gold Medal (Marshal Arts). We are so proud of what Prakash has achieved and look forward to cheering him on in the next national competition which will be held in Goa.

Dancing Lessons

A couple of the boys we support had asked to go for dancing lessons. Being a little impatient to progress the matter they located the Dance Academy and took a peep through the window. The owner invited them into join the class to see if they liked it. When asked who would sponsor the boys in future they pointed to the logo on their Children Walking Tall school bags and the owner duly popped along to Mango House. Ten children were subsequently enrolled at the Dancing Academy and are loving their lessons. We hope to continue dance as an extra curriculum activity in future.

Donated Clothes

Once things returned to normality in the New Year we turned our thoughts to distributing the many clothes that supporters had kindly brought to Mango House during the season. Some of the clothes go to the children we support throughout the year in the two local slums but in addition we give out thousands of clothes to local communities who are in need. If we have a surplus of anything at all we always pass it to smaller local charities if they are in need for the children they help.

It’s quite a challenge to give out the clothes in an orderly fashion since those in need can be so desperate that pushing and shoving just to grab anything can occur and on occasion can develop into something of a scrum. To try and avoid this we have to be very organised in advance. Before going the volunteers will spend a day or so sorting all the clothes into girls and boys, tops and bottoms and then into size order. The clothes and then placed in baskets and labelled up so we can give out quickly when we reach our destination. Sometimes we visit a slum or we will arrange to meet families from a slum at a prearranged location. If everything goes to plan after explaining who we are and what we are doing and that there will be enough for every child the children will line up and we can quickly judge size and locate suitable clothing from the baskets. On other occasions it’s a bit more of a challenge as the parents of the children can’t wait and get somewhat overeager to grab clothes for their families. It’s not surprising this happens from time to time – standing patiently in line comes far more easily to children than adults. If you have visited Goa you will no doubt have noticed that Indians don’t always wait their turn so its asking a lot to expect people who have next to nothing to patiently queue to get something precious for free. It can be an overwhelming experience for volunteers giving out clothes for the first time, but once we have managed to give out the clothes and order is restored the children’s joy at getting new outfits quickly dispels any discomfort and we’re ready to do it all over again.

Volunteers

As you may know we request that each volunteer makes a commitment to spend a minimum of three months with us and every volunteer meets all of the costs that they incur – very often just the cost of their flights, police check and employment visa alone exceeds £800. Volunteers who sign up and go the distance are special people. During the last three months we have said goodbye to Pat, Nathalie, Helen, Emily and Lee – we thank all of them for their contribution.

Every volunteer is important and leaves a lasting memory at CWT but we did just want to pay a special tribute to Pat Hoy. It would be impolite to mention Pat’s age but its quite a while since she officially became a pensioner. We don’t have an age limit on volunteering but it is fair to say that older people often find the going tough and are more likely to drop out before completing three months. Pat arrived in June, just in time for the added challenge of the monsoon and stayed with us until early January. She left us to take up a volunteering position in Kerala and we can definitely say their gain is our loss. We look forward to catching up with her Kerala news in May.

Website

We have added the following Christmas photo sets in the last couple of weeks - do take a look

Pictures

Help Us

Airlines, Luggage and Gifts in Kind

For the current season both Thomas Cook and Thomson Fly are giving additional free luggage allowances on outward flights for the Charity. If you would like to take something to Mango House and you are travelling with either airline you can find an application form by clicking on this link. Once submitted we will make the request on your behalf and then notify you of the free allowance granted.

You can see the kinds of items we use by clicking on this link. We are grateful for anything given and can assure supporters that NOTHING given is ever sold. Please note that many things, particularly toiletries and stationery, are cheaper in Goa so if you were thinking about buying these items it might be better to wait until you get there.

Donations

If you would like to make a one off or monthly donation to the Charity you can do so by clicking on this link or by posting a cheque payable to Children Walking Tall to our registered address. If you would like to restrict your donation to being spent on a particular thing then please let us know by email so that we can ensure that we comply with your wishes.

And Finally...

Newsletter By Email

We know it can by annoying to receive a lot of emails which you did not necessarily want, so if you would like to unsubscribe from our newsletter please just let us know by email to childrenwalkingtall@hotmail.com

Contact Us

Children Walking Tall
The Hayloft

Wilsic Rd

Wilsic

DONCASTER

DN11 9GD

Website : www.ChildrenWalkingTall.com