The Senior Citizen Bringing A Smile To Many Children In Mangalore

Author John B Monteiro, 79, set up the Johnlyn Toy Exchange & Book Bank in memory of his late wife and to provide the joy of books and toys to needy children.

The story behind former journalist and Mangalore resident John B Monteiro’s Johnlyn Toy Exchange & Book Bank is as heart-warming as they come. When his daughter, Primrose Monteiro-D’souza was growing up in Mumbai, John and his wife Lynette, did not have the means to buy the expensive toys that his child saw on the showroom windows of high-end shops on Colaba Causeway, where the family lived.

On a business trip to Gulf, John, a loving father, wanted to get the shiny toys displayed in the fancy stores for his daughter and finally managed to save enough to get an 18” battery operated walkie-talkie doll named Catherine. To his dismay, the Customs department demanded Rs.500 as duty for the doll once he landed in Mumbai. “I had only enough money left for taxi fare to Colaba, which in those days was about Rs 30. When I explained my mental turmoil, the customs man melted,” John, now 79, recalls. “He advanced me Rs 500 to pay the duty and said I could return the money later. I still remember his name, Radhakrishna. By sunset the same day, I had borrowed the money and travelling by train and bus, repaid him.”

It’s a story that touches not just for the simplicity of the times gone by but also for the way it stayed on in John’s mind all these years. Needless to add that his daughter was delighted with the present and like all children do, showered attention on it until it became old enough for her to grow bored of it. “The doll was mothballed as I did not have the heart to throw it or give it away,” says John.

The happy children with their toys

An Inspiring Idea

Over the years, John visited friends and family and often spotted toys that were mothballed and kept as the children had outgrown them. He remembered his own daughter’s desire for toys in the days when he could barely afford them and was inspired to do something for children who were not lucky enough to enjoy a childhood playing with toys.

This was the idea behind John’s recently launched initiative, Johnlyn Toy Exchange & Book Bank in Mangalore. It is also a tribute to his late wife Lynette, who had been an ardent reader and crossword-solver and loved books.

The Johnlyn Toy Exchange and Book Bank is located near Bondel Junction, Vijaya Bank Lane, Mangalore. The toys and books collected are meant to be distributed at remand homes, orphanages and Bal Bhavans for underprivileged children, says John, who is supported in the endeavour by his two children, Primrose and Mohan Monteiro.

John is in the process of setting up collection centres (apart from Johnlyn Cottage) in Mangalore, where donations of books and toys can be dropped off. He is also working to ensure that the donations reach the underprivileged children and the distribution is done equally and methodically. “I have a list from the district administration of the institutions that host and care for children in Mangalore’s urban area and Mangalore rural.” Though he would love to provide the help to rural children as well, John is honest about his resources and limitations at the moment. He calls it a “lone wolf plunge” though since the launch, he has been flooded with donations and requests from interested volunteers.

John B Monteiro’s plans include donating the books to children from various organizations during holidays and even doing an hour-long program with them, inviting them to sing and act. A Laughter Therapy enthusiast for the last 35 years, John also intends to introduce a laughter session for the children he would be sharing the donations with. Their first outreach has been with 34 children from Bal Bhavan in Bondel, Mangalore.

The Johnlyn Toy Exchange and Book Bank accepts donations of used and presentable toys and books.

“The toys would be collected and we would aggregate them to make cocktails of presents and label them with distinct numbers. The prospective beneficiary would pick a number and the corresponding would be handed over. In addition to collection centres being negotiated at sites such as church and school offices, donors can deliver the toys to Johnlyn Cottage between 9 am-12 pm and 3 pm-6 pm on all Sundays and public holidays,” says John. Toys could include the following: Board games, art and craft sets, puzzles with all pieces intact, soft toys, rattles, musical toys, bath toys, push and pull toys, among others.

The books that can be donated could be children’s books that have been used but are no longer needed.

If you have extra toys and books at home that your grandchildren or children no longer use and wish to put a smile on a needy child’s face, do help this noted author and journalist in his endeavour as he shows all of us how the retired years could be put to good use!

To contact John Monteiro, please call 9886276608 for details.

You can also see their Facebook page here: Johnlyn Toy Exchange & Book Bank

Featured image: John B Monteiro with the collection

All images courtesy: John B Monteiro, Primrose Monteiro-Dsouza