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Happy New Year and Thank You
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31-Dec
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As we reflect over the last 12 months we can't overlook the considerable help and support we have been given. Without the generosity of supporters, funders, and volunteers very little would be possible and we never forget it. On behalf of the trustees, staff on the ground in Goa and the children whose lives we make brighter we say a huge thank you to everyone.
We wish you all a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year.
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Christmas at Colva
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26-Dec
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Today the children at the Colva project also had a joyful Christmas celebration. Thanks to Farhan, the children were treated to a special party with a meal and were all given a breand new outfit. You can see the children here proudly wearing their new clothes for the big day above.
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The annual Christmas party is a very special day in the Mango House Calendar and this year was no exception. The children arrived in the morning and enjoyed photos by the tree and snacks before taking part in lots of party games around the garden. A special lunch was enjoyed and then we sang Happy Birthday and gave gifts to all the children with a birthday in December. The high point of the day came when the eagerly awaited Christmas Father distributed presents. Before leaving every child was given fruits and biscuits. It was a joyful time and we say a huge thank you to everyone who helped make it possible. See our gallery set here.....
View our Gallery here
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Chimbel Pre-Primary celebrates Christmas
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24-Dec
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Although the children at Chimbel focussed on their Annual Day celebration a couple of weeks ago it didn't stop a little pre-Christmas celebration taking place with the pre-primary children. Asw you can see it was a very happy event.
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Tomorrow sees one of the highlights of the Mango House year - the Christmas Party. As the month progressed we have been decorating the House and preparing for the big day. We made Christmas trees, paper chains, glitter stars, bells, a Christmas star and for the first time we made a nativity scene to greet our visitors. Our presents are packed, our balloons are blown - let the party begin………See our preparations here.....
View our Gallery here
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Medical Camp at Mango House
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22-Dec
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Today Mapusa Urban Health conducted medical camps for both the pre-primary and afternoon children at Mango House. The pre-primary children were mainly fit and fine with a few problems to be followed up with doctors and dentists. Amongst the afternoon children a small number had dental and eyesight problems - all of which have been followed up. Many of the afternoon children were found to have low haemoglobin levels. Following the doctors' advice we have started to give iron tablets and introduced some additional items in meals.
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Today the children from our Chimbel project put on an extravaganza to celebrate their Annual Day. We had been lucky enough to see some of the dance practices over recent weeks but in small groups in very limited space. We could never have imagined the display that ensued - with children from pre-primary right up until 8th standard taking part. A hall was hired and the Mayor of Panjim presided over the proceedings. Speeches were given, dances and plays took place and prizes to students presented. Our congratulations go to everyone who worked so hard to put on such a memorable celebration….. See the photos here.....
View our Gallery here
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The Challenge Was Met
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11-Dec
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We are thrilled to report that the sum of £2,535 was donated during the Christmas Challenge. We really need this annual fundraiser to be a success and so we were delighted with the outcome. Thank you to everyone who gave and shared our appeal.
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Recently we had a very special visit by a team from the Royal Naval Ship HMS Enterprise. A small party came on Sunday for a look around and then a team arrived on Monday prepared and ready for action.
It would be impossible to list all that they did but in addition to entertaining the children and helping with lunch they did lots of electrical jobs, gardened, repaired the wash roof, demolished our unsafe tree house, made safe the trampoline, and made some fabulous tree swings, a rope walk and a tent which the children love. Not only that, but they brought along lots of surplus supplies from the ship together with cricket bats, wickets, footballs etc.
It was our absolute privilege and a joy to have such a hardworking team with us. They left us with a safer house and garden, a play area equipped for fun, so many useful things and an unforgettable day. Thank you HMS Enterprise team for everything. You can view our pictures from their visit here - .....
View our Gallery here
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Our Mango House Days Video
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06-Dec
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As many of our supporters will already know we are very proud of the team at Mango House and everything they do to help children prepare for school and to remain there. For a long time we have hoped to make a video of the everyday activities at Mango House. The approach of our Christmas Challenge gave us a target for completion. Shot over three days in November on nothing more than an iPad we've managed to produce "Our Mango House Days". To those who have visited us we hope it brings back lots of happy memories, to those who haven't we hope you enjoy seeing inside Mango House and to those who sponsor children we hope you will enjoy catching a glimpse of them. Click here to see our video.
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Fundraising Nights at Nick's Place Arpora
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05-Dec
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We are really thrilled to hear that Nick's Place at Arpora are holding fundraising nights for Mango Tree at their award winning restaurant this season. If you are visiting Goa do please come along and support us with a fun night of games. Our huge thanks go to Linda, Bob and Nitesh for supporting us. Nick's Place are also happy to collect and pass on any items or donations to the Charity so if you don't have the time to visit us but would like to help please pop in to the restaurant.
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We have now published our latest newsletter covering the last three months. Use the blue subscribe button on the right hand side of this page if you want to subscribe to the newsletter by email......
View the Newsletter here
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Fabulous First Fundraiser at Nick's Place
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04-Dec
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We had a fabulous first fundraising night at Nick's Place, Arpora last night. We had a lot of fun playing Bob's Bottle Top Bonus, Cash Bingo and a raffle with lots of prizes donated and a very funny game of Family Fortunes. We raised 33,400 rupees on the night and from some donations at the restaurant. Thank you so much to Nick's Place for hosting a wonderful evening and to everyone for their generous support on the night
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Fundraising At the Arambol Bookstore
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30-Nov
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Our thanks go to Richard for setting up the Charity Bookstore at Arambol again this year. We have already received 12,000 rupees from the sale of secondhand books this season. If you are in Calangute, Candolim, Arpora or Baga and can donate your old books please let us know and we will pick them up.
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Our Annual Christmas Challenge
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29-Nov
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Our Christmas Challenge is almost upon us and we are really hoping you will help. Some very generous supporters have together pledged to donate £2,500 BUT ONLY if it is matched by other donations on 5th, 6th and 7th December. Every donation will be matched £ for £ until we reach the £2,500 target so its an amazing opportunity to see your donation doubled.
Please watch out for our posts and take action on 5th, 6th or 7th December. No amount is too small. We know it's not always easy to donate so we've put together a few ideas to inspire you here.
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Rewarding Excellence
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16-Nov
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Every year Mango House celebrates the children who have either the best school attendance or the best results in their school exams. This year 13 children were given prizes. All were given outfits except three girls who did very well in both categories and received a watch. If you have a count up two children are missing from our photo - both girls, In actual fact 9 of the children are girls and 4 are boys - Girl Power in action we think.
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Although schools close for 3 weeks for Diwali, Mango House closes for just one week and encourages children to come along for a meal and to have fun. You can see here some of the many art and craft activities that our volunteer Fran put on for them......
View our Gallery here
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On 14th November India celebrates Children's Day. Not to be left out the children at our Chimbel project were treated to a sports day and a picnic. See all the fun they had here......
View our Gallery here
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Medical Camp at Chimbel
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11-Nov
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Recently three doctors and their assistants from Goa Medical College conducted a medical camp for the pre-primary children at Chimbel. The doctors talked lovingly to the children who quickly forgot their fears. They gave treatments to those suffering from colds and fevers and in the case of the weakest children gave advice, particularly about the importance of nourishing food. Sadly a number of cases of TB were discovered among the children and their parents and guidance was given about their special care. We look forward to the team returning in around six months.
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The children at Mango House had worked hard in the build up to exams so an outing was arranged for the first day of the Diwali holidays. 53 children were taken to the Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary. They enjoyed seeing many animals and snakes and had a lot of fun playing in the park too. As always the Mango House team worked hard in advance to make sure there was a fabulous picnic on hand. A lovely day was had by all. See our photos here.....
View our Gallery here
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Before the children broke up for the Diwali holidays they enjoyed taking part in various craft activities to celebrate the festival. The pre-primary children coloured drawings of diyas (clay lamps) while the afternoon children modelled diyas and made Diwali lanterns......
View our Gallery here
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We have updated our How We Celebrate Gallery - showing how we support all children regardless of their religion and therefore celebrate all major religious festivals. See all the days we celebrated during the last twelve months in this updated gallery......
View our Gallery here
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Celebrating the International Day of the Girl
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15-Oct
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In order to raise awareness about the inequality that girls face the United Nations declared the 11th October to be the International Day of the Girl Child.
At Mango Tree we know that girls from disadvantaged backgrounds face enormous obstacles, not least the lack of education and opportunity. We also know that an educated girl has the power to break free from the poverty cycle. She is less likely to marry whilst still a child herself, more likely to have fewer children, more likely to raise healthy, educated children and more likely to invest her income into her family.
To do our bit to raise awareness about these issues and the 167 girls we support daily we posted on Facebook. We are delighted to say that over 4,000 people saw our post.
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We send our warm greetings to Muslims throughout the world who are celebrating the important festival of Eid Al-Adha.
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