LITTLE ACORNS:  CALANGUTE.

 The month of September brought hope and joy to the children after a strenuous week off examinations at school. They now look forward to a weeklong holiday, playing their favorite games. Nearly 1600 children attended the shelter this month. Our fieldworker Shankar through his outreach was able to add two new children to the fraternity of Little Acorns. They are Salim (6 yrs.) and his brother Aslam (4 yrs). The Slum school is also full swing while 270 children attended and expected to increase. (more…)

August kept the Shelter engaged with the number of children and visitors rising steadily. The school going children are spreading awareness of the shelter and so also are the locals. This month we were able to attend to nearly 1833 children. Everyday 60 to 70 children attended for food, shelter and basic medical attention.  

On the occasion of ‘Independence Day’, sweets were distributed to the children. Our Volunteer, Maxina & her mother Rachel visited the shelter and spent time with the children. They also visited the slums and were introduced to Ruksana (a paralytic child) and Teherien  Banu (a blind child). (more…)

“Little Acorns”, Our Day Care and Night Shelter, in Calangute the most famous Goan beach, has little respite during the monsoon season or the “slow” season. Inspite of the rains coming down in torrents, we at Little Acorns have had a very fruitful month. (more…)

The month began with the rains coming down in torrents. The schools reopened on the 5th June and it was a proud moment for all to see our children going to school Joanna visited the school along with the school children & parents. All the children were neatly dressed in spanking new uniforms, rain sandals and raincoats. (more…)

May was hot and humid in Calangute. The sea breeze brought a little respite from the heat. Even though this was the month of school holidays the staff was busy and still able to help and assist many children. The Shelter remained open throughout this month and new children came to check out what LA was all about and very soon became regular visitors.

Our Unit Manager and his Assistant went on their annual summer leave. Johnny and Joanna took a well deserved break. Other staff and Senior boys came to the Shelter to extend a helping hand to the staff there. All went fine and it was a great learning experience for the seniors.

Fieldwork continued as usual and this month they have done a great job raising awareness of health hazards during the monsoon and ways to tackle the same. Dwellers of slums were given instructions through novel ways of the precautions to be taken and what to do in the event of an emergency. Due to the efforts of the fieldworkers many new children have joined the Shelter and many parents have shown interest in educating their children.

Most of the visitors this month bought us ice cream which was welcomed by all and enjoyed thoroughly. We thank them and others who donated stationery, clothes and contributed towards the Shelter and El Shaddai as a whole. It is because of your generosity that these children have a shot at education, childhood and a better life.

We look forward to June with expectations. The rains will surely come bringing with it coolness and new life. The fields will turn green and schools will reopen. We hope many new children will come and avail of the facilities provided at the Shelter. We are ready to touch lives with love and care. We want to love the unloved and the less fortunate and hope we can be a blessing to these children as they are a blessing to us.

Many of the children have gone to their native villages for the summer vacation and so we have experienced a drop in number of children attending. This month we were able to care and assist nearly 900. The fieldwork however has continued in full swing. Slum dwellers are being made aware of the menace of malaria as the monsoons will soon be here. (more…)

The number of children attending the Shelter has increased steadily. We believe this is due to the hard work and regular visits to families in and around Calangute. We even have children coming from the neighboring villages of Arpora and Nagoa and Sinquerim. (more…)

The number of children who availed of Day Care facilities this month was 1586. Food, shelter, formal and non formal education was provided to all. Many of these children were also treated as the need arose. Overall we had a great month of February with its cold weather and warm sea breeze. (more…)

This month of January brought everything possible with it. We have had rescues, visitors, hospitalizations, documentary filming, dental camps, maintenance works and new children attending. All this has kept us on our toes and encouraged us to work harder and be more effective. (more…)

The month of December has been a roller coaster one for the staff and children of Little Acorns. We have had plenty of visitors, many kind donations, friends who have come from afar and near, people who have offered their services, great results from the schools and most of all many more new children who have come to the Shelter for the basic necessities of life. Nearly 100 children attended everyday in spite of the holidays. An added reason for celebrations was the very good result our 47 children brought back from school. From the 18th till the end of the month it has been one long, joyful and memorable Christmas season. (more…)