Children With Their Diwali Donations
NGO Charity Children India Goa Donate Today
Goa, India Information

Thank you to The Deltin Group Hotels & Casinos | Eraser in the ear | 125 Diwali Presents Given To Children | In The News

❤ Donate Now

Thank you to The Deltin Group Hotels & Casinos, Mapusa, Goa

Couple of kids sat amonst SOME of the donated clothes getting their trousers altered
Couple of kids sat amonst SOME of the donated clothes getting their trousers altered

The last month has been really busy with organising, buying, packing and distributing the Diwali Bags. During the same week we also had Dattaraj from the Deltin Group of Hotels and Casinos donate a huge amount of their last year’s staff uniforms.

We organised a date and they kindly delivered the clothes and with the help of a few of the staff we brought around 12 -15, large (one meter cubed) bags from the vehicle up to the centre. Each one of the bags contained a different style of uniform. After all the clothes were brought up there was little space left in our spare room.

During the following week we spent a few hours each day going through the bags and sorting the clothes into different sizes and styles, the smaller ones were set aside for the children, the larger ones for some of the older siblings and parents.

Each day we had a few children come and they had the chance to look through the clothes, with each in turn choosing a few items each. Of the clothes for the older children, (12 plus years) Yallama very kindly altered a few of them on the sewing machine to shorten legs and narrow the waist bands, some really demanding children even asked for the legs to be narrowed as 'the slim fit' is generally considered to be in fashion.

Some of the larger shirts and trousers have been given to the fathers to wear and the remaining clothes will be kept to be up cycled in the future. We already have a few plans for making bags, converting some into pencil cases and even converting shirts in to skirts. We will have to wait and see what happens.

Thank you so much to Dattaraj who organised the donation and of course the Deltin Group Casionos and Hotels for donating all the clothes.

❤ Donate Now

Eraser in the ear, Mapusa, Goa

A small harmless eraser on the end of a pencil - Not meant for inside an ear!
A small harmless eraser on the end of a pencil - Not meant for inside an ear!

Well, today is just one of those days! We received a call from school saying that one of the smaller children had an eraser stuck in her ear! – It does happen, doesn’t it. I can relate, although I don’t think I ever did that when I was as at school, but perhaps I should ask my mum before making such a bold statement! I can imagine that she was sat there in class, day dreaming a little and picked up the eraser and thought...

"I guess that could fit nicely in my ear"

"Oh yeah it does"

"... Oh how do I get it out!"

When Rob and Yallama arrived to meet the class teacher the young girl was not in her usual happy mood so it surely wasn't the most comfortable of places to stick an eraser. Yallama spoke to the teacher, signed her out of school and took her to casualty at the district hospital to see what could be done. On arrival, they met up with the child’s parents who had just arrived and after a little paper work and a very short wait the eraser was removed and all was well in the world again.

If any children are reading this, please understand that it might seem like a good idea at the time, but do think to yourself about how it’s coming out before you push it too far in!

❤ Donate Now

125 Diwali Presents Given To Children, Mapusa, Goa

Diwali is a time for the families to get together and celebrate, so as a gift to our educational children we provide some household items for each child. As last year, we, as in Yallama, Sonaria and Pranjali, have made large fabric bags to hold all the goodies. The bags can then be reused as shopping bags for trips to the local market. The bags are filled with all the basic necessities including rice, oil, turdal, sugar, salt, tea, chilli garam masala, turmeric, poha (beaten rice), flour soap, shampoo, toothpaste and brush, soap for dish washing and a pack of biscuits for each child.

Cute Smile
Girl Infront Of 125 Diwali Bags
Joyous Smile
Large Bag Small Girl
One Family Each Supported Child With Diwali Bag
Shaved Head For Diwali Celebrations
Three Girls With Their Bags
Two Children Holding Their Diwali Bags
Two Girls With Diwali Donations
Young Boy Holding His Large Bag
❤ Donate Now

In The News, Mapusa, Goa

DEEPA GEORGE meets Robert Lyon, the Founder of Goa Outreach, an NGO based in Mapusa that works with children in local slum communities around Mapusa
DEEPA GEORGE meets Robert Lyon, the Founder of Goa Outreach, an NGO based in Mapusa that works with children in local slum communities around Mapusa

Goa seems to perennially attract different types of people, but perhaps the best are those that come in unselfishly to give back to the society, with an inherent desire to make a definitive change in the lives of the less privileged and the have-nots in the society. DEEPA GEORGE meets Robert Lyon, the Founder of Goa Outreach, an NGO based in Mapusa that works with children in local slum communities around Mapusa and helps in their education, while supporting them with medical issues and teaching and encouraging good hygiene.

Robert Lyon, a UK citizen has lived in Goa for the past 15 years and like many men, behind this successful social worker too stood a woman.

At least that is what he impishly revealed as I settle down and quiz him about reasons that lured him this land of golden sunshine and silvery beaches and kept him steadfast for such a long time.

Well, it’s a rather long story, he quips, but readily admits that it was "all because of a girl." He continues with a smile, revealing how his ex-girlfriend was keen to do volunteer work in India and how both subsequently landed on the shores of Goa in 2004."

They initially came to volunteer for a well-established charity organisation and after eight months of service, decided to set up their own charity orgqanisation, 'Children Walking Tall', also popularly known as 'The Mango House.'

By 2011, he moved on but The Mango House continued to be run by his Indian partners that have now taken the shape of a pre-primary school.

"It’s so much easier procuring licenses if run by Indians," he laments in a matter-of-fact tone.

While his girlfriend left, Robert continued to be actively involved in working with children. In 2016, Goa Outreach Trust was registered with three other Indian counterparts, Ishita Godinho, Rahul and Rhys D’Souza. Currently they help 125 children from Std 1 upwards, in and around the Mapusa area. Most of these children are from the slums and belong to migrant workers from neighbouring states and from all caste, creed and religion.

When I meet him at his home, which doubles up as the Centre, Robert or Rob as he is popularly known, it is evident that he lives a frugal life. A bed, his large computer and his bike seem to be the only major belongings. The rest of the space is occupied by all the donated items for his charity. He is surrounded by a group of children as he peers into his large desktop computer, teaching them computer and maths.

Quickly dismissing my belief that teaching was one of his core areas, Robert says, "I only teach maths but our greater agenda is to ensure that this Centre runs as a safe haven for these kids, post school to do their homework or study. Besides, we undertake all the outreach work - providing books, stationery, food, uniforms, bags, fees etc to help keep these children in school."

Supported by a full-time aide and two interns from Don Bosco School, who are addressed as 'didis,’ Rob’s centre is a hub of activity. "These kids stay in cramped houses. This is a space that allows them to be themselves, they do their school work and also learn to use the computer," he points out.

Robert gets by with a smattering of Hindi and Konkani. It doesn’t impede his work. If at all, it’s the kids who learn to speak English fluently as they try to converse with him.

Robert is often up against challenges, especially in convincing parents to continue the education of girl children. He has interesting stories to share of real-time rescue missions. They’ve had to intervene in cases when young girls were married off and were in abusive relationships. In a lot of these cases, parents come back to Robert seeking his assistance.

"We’ve had to face the police and stand our ground in trying to rescue some of these girls. In some cases we have had the support of their parents which gave us a bigger impetus. We were once even threatened with a kidnapping charge by the police, despite the girl’s mother being on our side. They finally backed off when they realised we were not going to be intimidated. We are happy that these girls were rescued and more importantly they were able to join school again and continue with their studies," Robert emphasised.

It is heartening to see the easy camaraderie and comfort Robert shares with these children. Eagerly showing the pictures of children who are currently pursuing further studies, Robert says he had known some of these children for a majority of their lives and it’s good to see them being able to pursue further education, beyond schooling. Focusing on hygiene and health issues, the team recently held a talk by a social worker, on menstruation, to educate young girls who either had no knowledge at all or were misinformed about their bodies.

Robert has had to play the role of a father and get the right medical help for these children for skin infections, dental issues and even more serious issues of burn victims and leprosy. Ask him how he’d best describe himself and pat comes the response, "Tired!"

"My biggest strength is that many of the families have known me for a decade or more, people in the locality know me, so my credibility is established. We usually have children joining us, primarily through word of mouth. I share a bond with these families and language isn’t a barrier in communicating. Our intent is understood," Robert said.

Largely funded through individual donations and fundraisers, Robert is happy to accept sponsorship for fees, food items, clothes, school stationery etc. Admitting to be a big 'kanjoos' (miser), as he calls himself, Robert is happy to stretch the inflated rupee and depends on the support of friends, family and well-wishers.

Establishments like the W Hotel have joined hands in the past and conducted a "Run to Give" drive in 2016. Breaking from the norm, Robert states that fundraising is done by volunteers who call up wanting to associate and added that he does not usually go about asking for funds. There is a reason then why he chooses to be small. "Small is good" quips Robert. "It helps us to focus on the children we have. There’s no point opening more centres without having the right people to operate it."

Fifteen years have gone by in a flash and Robert seems more comfortable calling India and Goa, home. For these children, he is their ray of hope.