DECEMBER 2025
As always it's been a very busy quarter and, despite
children having quite a hectic schedule and sitting exams,
we somehow managed to fit in a lot of celebrations and
events. We hope that you enjoy reading about just a snapshot
of a few of them. In truth, we could fill a newsletter with
just the activities which took place over two days for
Diwali, both at Mango Tree House and at Chimbel. As always,
our teams on the ground in Goa have been amazing and put so
much hard work into making each event fabulous for the
children. You will also read about some of the
fabulous support we have received in the quarter. We are
proud that this support has been ongoing and intend always
to be worthy of it.
From all of us at Mango Tree, we sincerely thank our
supporters for what you have made possible this year and we
wish you a wonderful festive season and a happy, healthy and
peaceful New Year.
OUR ANNUAL CHRISTMAS
CHALLENGE NEEDS YOU!
Our Annual Christmas Challenge began on 1st December and
will run until the end of the month. The Challenge is a
major source of our annual income and, for those who don't
already know about this year's event, we have set ourselves
two goals. The first is to raise £4,000, which is crucial as
it will be matched £ for £ by some very generous friends. We
don't want a single penny of the matched funds to get away.
Recognising the difficulties we face as a result of there
being significantly less visitors to Goa in recent years and
the resulting loss of financial support, we have set an
ambitious target to raise a further £2,000 making £10,000 in
all. It's a tall order but we very much hope that you will
help us to succeed.
You can read all about the Challenge
here. No donation is too
small. Anything can make a difference and we would be
thrilled to receive any donation. You can make an online
donation by clicking
here and see other ways to make a donation
here. Please add us to your
Christmas list and help us if you can.
THE NEW CHIMBEL PREMISES
In our last newsletter we were
thrilled to share the news that children at the Chimbel
project had moved into their new premises. One of our
trustees finally got the chance to visit the new school
recently. Even though there is a lot still to be done, she
was amazed. Above the school there are three floors of very
basic labourers' rooms, many of which remain unfinished -
it's not an impressive site. But when you enter the school
on the ground floor, it is bright, airy and so calm and
friendly. It is fabulous. every classroom is beautifully
decorated with posters which the teachers have made and
children are bright as buttons. Despite the fact that we
have much still to do in terms of furniture and equipment,
equipping the new bathroom block, building a compound wall
and making a safe outdoor space for playing beyond the rough
existing yard, the team on the ground at the project could
not be happier. Their classrooms are more spacious, cleaner
and brighter. But, most of all, they are thrilled to have
a rocky bit of open yard to take children out to play. For
the first time in the thirteen years that we have funded the
project, children have this opportunity. They live in tiny
rooms in a congested slum over over 10,000 people, with not
a speck of open space. as a result, when children go out to
play they go wild and it takes a while just to run off all
that pent up energy before games can begin. Outdoor play is
essential for all children and we could not be happier that
children have that opportunity. We also look forward to
making that rocky bit of open ground into a proper
playground before the end of this financial year, knowing
what a difference that will make.
CHILDREN'S DAY FUN AND GAMES
All the afternoon and outside tuition children were
treated to not one, but two afternoons of fun to celebrate
Children's Day. That might sound a bit excessive but when
there are just short of 200 children, not including those
who are at College, It's a bit difficult to do something
meaningful to involve everyone at the same time. On the
first afternoon there was a programme of outdoor games and
races for the younger group whilst our outside tuition
children were treated to a Treasure Hunt which saw them
solving clues and riddles and chasing all over the House and
Gardens in search of the elusive winning golden key. On the
second afternoon all children came dressed to impress and
gathered in the Hall to enjoy an afternoon of indoor party
games. We finished off with a sweet doughnut treat which had
everyone licking their lips. It was lots of fun and a great
opportunity to get everyone together to enjoy a special day.
RAISING AWARENESS ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL CHILD
The UN declared the 11th October as the International Day of
the Girl Child with the aim of raising awareness of the
inequality girls face. In India, the birth of a girl is
still often seen as a burden and many girls do not have the
same opportunities and rights as boys. As always Mango Tree
House did their bit to raise awareness of the additional
challenges that girls face. Members of 1st to 3rd Standard
presented banners with slogans and 3rd to 6th Standard took
part in a poster competition. Last, but not least, the
programme concluded with a powerful display of the Goddess
Durga destroying all the evils which take away a girl's
rights, allowing them to fly high and free like a bird.
ALL ABOUT OUR EMOTIONS
Learning about emotions is a crucial lesson, as it helps
children to understand their own feelings and recognise them
in others. It helps them to get along better with others and
to cooperate more effectively, to handle their emotions
better which leads to better focus and resilience which, in
turn, will help them cope better with life's challenges.
Recently our social worker conducted a really fun session to
help pre-primary children recognise and think about
emotions. After demonstrating the various emotions, they
added a swatch of colour to the rainbow for each which went
from blue for sleepy to red for angry. It was both fun and
creative and, most of all, a really valuable lesson.
THE COLOURS OF NAVRATRI
Navratri falls shortly before Diwali in the Hindu
calendar. It takes place over nine days with each day
dedicated to one form of the Goddess Durga and associated
with a special colour. Devotees wear clothes of that colour
both to honour Durga and to bring positivity into their
lives. The team at Mango Tree House chose to dress
accordingly. Here they are on four of the nine days. They
wore royal blue representing tranquility and richness,
peacock green for uniqueness, pink for love, affection and
harmony and green for peace. It was a real treat to see the
team's joy at coming to take part of this vibrant
celebration.
UPHOLDING NAVRATRI
TRADITIONS
Apart from the wearing of different colours during
Navratri, there are many much older traditions associated
with the festival. One of them relates to traditional dances
such as Dandiya. The Dandiya dance originated in the state
of Gujarat and again, honours the goddess Durga. Dancers
hold two small decorative sticks (dandiyas) in the hands
which they tap against each other rhythmically. The sticks
symbolise the swords of the Goddess Durga in her battle
against the demon Mahishasura. Participants often wear
vibrant, traditional clothing. This year, to celebrate the
Navratri festival, the Mango Tree House afternoon children
learnt and then put on a Dandiya performance and some of our
pre-primary children dressed in traditional attire, some of
which can be seen above.
CHIMBEL
STUDENTS VISIT REIS MAGOS FORT
Children at the Chimbel project also
enjoyed Children's Day treats. On the day all the
pre-primary children headed off to the Goa Science Centre
where they enjoyed interacting with some of the exhibits
before heading out to play. The afternoon children headed
out to Reis Magos Fort where they had a picnic. The fort is
very scenic as it is located on a hill by the river and
children could enjoy running along the ramparts and admiring
the boats, ferries and river traffic before visiting the
various museum exhibits. Children don't often get the chance
to go out and were really happy to do so.
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THE CONTINUING SUPPORT OF LA
LIGUE HUMANITAIRE
In the early Summer of 2023 we received an
email asking if it would be possible to visit
Mango Tree. The visit, subsequently took place
and, as a result, we were thrilled to learn that
the French Charity La Ligue Humanitaire had
decided to support Mango Tree with a regular
monthly donation. We are delighted to say that
the support still continues and last month we
thought to express our thanks by holding a
couple of craft sessions around La Ligue's logo.
First, our pre-primary children replicated it
with ear bud painting and then some of our 1st
Standard children made beautiful powder rangolis
to match. We say a huge thank you to all the
members for their faith in and continued support
for Mango Tree.
AN AFTERNOON OF MEHNDI
Mehndi is the traditional art of henna body art. It is seen
as a symbol of joy, creativity and beauty and is
particularly practised during Muslim festivals. It is always
a favourite activity and after the Eid themed art and craft
activities which took place just prior to Eid Milad Un Nabi
in September, our girls had a lovely afternoon creating
henna designs on each other's arms and hands. The level of
concentration is amazing. We have some very talented artists
- here are just a few of their creations.
A FURTHER DONATION FROM THE ANTHONY XAVIER
D'SOUZA CHARITABLE TRUST
Following our last
newsletter we were contacted by one of the
trustees of the Anthony Xavier D'Souza
Charitable Trust. Many of you may remember the
Trust's generosity over the years. We were asked
if there was anything which was required at
Mango Tree House. We asked the question of our
manager there. In actual fact, apart from every
day running expenses and things like premises
maintenance, the team at Mango Tree House rarely
ask for anything, so it was something of a
surprise to receive a detailed list of things
they really could use, including things like a
table for pre-primary children to gather around,
a table to replace the one in the entrance which
was always too big and children bang into, a
fridge to replace the on its last legs model we
have, a laptop to replace two that have screen
problems, additional chairs and educational
items. We passed the list along, in the hope
that something might be funded and were thrilled
to receive £2,095 to fund all of the items and
that as a result a lot of things that the team
have tried their best to make do with can be
replaced. Here you can see pre-primary children
already enjoying their new table.
OUR GHANDI DAY CLEAN UP
The anniversary of
Mahatma Gandhi's birthday falls on 2nd October
and on that day school children all over India
can be seen cleaning school premises, or even
out cleaning in the wider community. The
activity honours Gandhi's principles of
cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation and teaches
children the importance of a clean environment
and to take responsibility for their
environment. Children expect to take part and
think nothing of cleaning at school in the
morning and then arriving at Mango Tree House
and, once lunch is out of the way, to do their
bit there too. Here are some of the children
enthusiastically cleaning our hall, whilst
others were busy in their classrooms, tidying
the garden or giving our buses and good clean.
SUMMER SHOES
Once the monsoon has finally gone it's time
to provide children with what we call "Summer
shoes" - something many of us would recognise as
canvas pumps. Schools have always required them
from 5th Standard and above but last year the
Government mandated that all children in 1st and
above must have them. It sounds simple to kit
children out with them. we get samples of the
various school shoes, children line up and put a
bag over their foot and we guide them to what
looks like it will fit and take it from there.
It's quite a challenge, however, to ask a child
who has worn nothing but flip flops if they feel
about right. They don't feel good - they feel
heavy and cumbersome and take some getting used
to. They rub places that have never been exposed
to footwear. But undoubtedly, Summer shoes are
far better for young feet once children have
become accustomed to wearing them and within two
or three weeks children adjust to the change.
OUR DIWALI RANGOLI
The last event of our Diwali programme is
always to complete out Diwali rangoli which will
welcome Goddess Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth and
prosperity, into Mango Tree House. The sitting
together to complete the rangoli from coloured
powders fosters a sense of joy, celebration and
community. Once completed we lit it up with all
the clay diyas which children had painted the
previous day to not only light the rangoli up
but to symbolise the triumph of light over
darkness and good over evil. We then placed our
offerings of traditional food stuffs which our
cooks had prepared. When all was complete it was
time to head off for the long Diwali holidays.
OUR THANKS TO THE THEOSOPHICAL
SOCIETY OF SWEDEN
Over many years we have been blessed to
receive ongoing support from Theosophical Order
of Service in Sweden. Without any fuss or
fanfare, periodically sums of money arrive in
our bank account. The members have given
extraordinary support over the years and have
made a great deal possible. We say a huge thank
you to them for their most recent donation of
£1,818.64 which once again will help us to
achieve so much.
DIPLOMA OF EDUCATION STUDENTS
VISIT MANGO TREE HOUSE
We were delighted to learn that students
undertaking a Diploma of Education at a local
Goan College planned to visit Mango Tree House
to learn more about its functioning and the
impact which it has on outcomes for children. As
a UK Charity, one of our founding aims was for
projects on the ground to be run as local
organisations by local people and be recognised
as such by Government Departments and the wider
community. A small thing such as a visit by a
local college speaks volumes about how the
project is regarded. Here you can see Vindha,
our manager, with some of the visiting students.
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