How much does it cost?
We ask for a donation of £15 a month, which is
approximately 50 pence a day, although, we would, of
course, be happy to receive a monthly donation in excess
of this amount.
How are my donations spent?
We believe that education is the main route out of
the cycle of poverty. We therefore support children by
preparing them to enter mainstream school and supporting
them to remain there so they can reach their full
potential. For this reason, the money you donate to
Mango Tree Goa does not go directly to the child you
sponsor. The money you give is pooled with the
contributions of other sponsors and used to support
Pre-Primary education at any of our projects. In this
way your donations are spent in such a way as to make
the most difference to the greater number of children
and will help to ensure that the pre-primary education
is available for the greatest number of children.
What do I receive when I sponsor a class?
When you decide to sponsor we will ask whether you
wish to sponsor a Lower or Upper Kindergarten Class. In
general our Lower Kindergarten Class children are
between 3 and 4 years old when they join us and our
Upper Kindergarten class between 4 and 5. Within a month
of making your first donation you will receive
information all about your chosen class. We will tell
you a little about the background of our children, the
education system in India and pre-primary school at
Mango House. In order that you can follow what your
class is doing we’ll then send you an update roughly
once a quarter. You will also receive a copy of our
electronic newsletter from which you can easily follow
what’s been happening at the Mango House project.
Can I correspond with my sponsored class?
We don’t wish children or teachers to be under any
pressure from our sponsorship schemes. We have,
therefore, decided to keep them very simple and do not
permit correspondence. We hope that sponsors will be
happy to know that through their sponsorship they are
making a real difference to children’s lives and that
they will enjoy watching their sponsored class develop.
If you are visiting Goa and would like to see visit your
sponsored class then you will be very welcome at Mango
House. Read more below in the section “Can I Visit My
Sponsored Class?”
Who are the children in the sponsorship programme?
All the children in the sponsorship programme are
supported by Mango House. The majority are from families
from outside Goa who live in local slums or other poor
quality accommodation. Their parents come to Goa looking
to improve their lives from the wealth that tourism
brings but unfortunately their dreams are seldom
realised and child poverty and illiteracy are widespread
amongst these migrant communities.
What does sponsorship mean to Mango Tree Goa?
Receiving regular amounts means that we can plan
ahead and continue our work to improve the lives of
disadvantaged children in Goa.
What happens when my class completes Upper
Kindergarten and leaves pre-primary?
Once children complete Upper Kindergarten the Mango
House Social Worker helps to enrol them into local
schools. School starts around 7.30am and finishes around
1.30p.m. The children we support have neither educated
parents nor a home environment where they can study.
Once school finishes the Mango House drier picks them up
and takes them to Mango House where they have lunch and
afternoon tuition classes. Their qualified teachers help
them with subjects they are finding difficult and to do
their homework. With this support they are much more
likely to succeed at school and are kept away from child
labour. They also have a lot of fun and play too.
Once your class completes Upper Kindergarten we will
invite you to either sponsor a new class or sponsor one
of the children who has completed Upper Kindergarten and
joined Mango House in the afternoon. In this way you can
follow a child’s journey all the way through school or
as long as you are able to. You can read all about our
Sponsor A Child scheme
here .
How long do I have to sponsor?
We hope that your relationship with Mango Tree Goa
will continue until your class completes pre-primary
school. We hope you will decide to stay with us beyond
this but this is entirely your choice. If your
circumstances change then you can, of course, stop at
any time.
Aside from completion of education are there any
circumstances in which the sponsorship will come to an
end?
Regrettably on occasion children do leave the Mango
House project – usually because their families relocate
but very occasionally because they do not wish to
continue to attend school. In addition the situation may
arise where a child does not wish to continue to be
sponsored. If for any reason your sponsored child leaves
the project we will inform you and ask whether you wish
to sponsor another child.
Can I send gifts to the class?
We never accept gifts for individual children.
However, if you would like to help celebrate a birthday
or another occasion you could consider providing a treat
for your sponsored child’s class at Mango House e.g a
birthday cake, biscuits, small treat for everyone or a
contribution towards an outing for them.
Unfortunately parcels posted from overseas to Mango
House rarely reach there and if they do exorbitant rates
of customs duties are demanded. For this reason we ask
that people do not send parcels. If, however, you have
an Amazon account, it is possible to use your account on
Amazon India to order something and send it to Mango
House e.g. a game. If you are interested in doing this
then please let us know.
Can I visit my sponsored class?
Some sponsors may never get the opportunity to visit
Goa but we encourage those that do to visit Mango House
and meet their class should they wish to do so. Please
contact us to arrange a date for your visit.
Can I post details about my class on social media,
the internet etc?
We take the safety of the children very seriously.
All sponsorship is arranged subject to our Child Safety
Policy which we will provide you with before you agree
to sponsor. The information we provide is intended only
for our sponsors and we do not permit it to be utilised
in any other way.
I have more questions. What should I do?
If you require any further information about our
sponsorship scheme please contact us at
info@mangotreegoa.org
I would like to sponsor – what do I need to do?
We would be delighted if you would like to sponsor a
class. Please let us know by email to
info@mangotreegoa.org
and also let us know if you
have a preference to support our Lower or Upper
Kindergarten group. We will send you a copy of our child
safety policy in relation to the sponsorship scheme
which we will ask you to read and agree. After that we
will ask you to set up your donation and within a month
we will provide you with details of your sponsored
class. |