Thank you, Asia "Kolkata" (92 days left)

 "Thank you, Asia series".  92 days left.  February 28, 2021 

Thank you, Kolkata, India.

Growing up I could never have imagined I would ever travel to Kolkata (Calcutta), India.  I grew up knowing about Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity.  I had heard of The Mother House.  I had heard how she had served the poorest of the poor.  I knew these things, but I didn't know I would one day become a volunteer for the Missionaries of Charity myself.  This was truly one of the more transformational experiences I have had during our eleven years living as expats in Asia.

In March 2018 and March 2019 I had the privilege of chaperoning our school's service interim trip to Kolkata called "Children of Kolkata".  Along with about 16 students and one or two other chaperones upon each occasion, we spent one week working with service organizations in Kolkata.  The Missionaries of Charity service was the most challenging and eye opening for me.  

the HKIS female volunteers outside of the Mother House  

Photo Credit: © Brenda Brayko. All rights reserved.

Each morning we would meet at 7 AM at THE Mother House with the nuns who would provide a bread, banana, and milk tea breakfast, lead a few prayers and songs, and then dispatch us to various homes around the city which cared for the disabled, sick and dying who had been rescued from the streets.  The girls in our service group and I were dropped off at Shanti-Dan each day, which serves young girls to young women with mental health needs, CP, or blindness.  There, we learned how to care for the "girls", sing to them, walk with them, teach them English, do physical therapy with them or care for the facility by washing clothes by hand or hanging clothes on the line, folding clothes, or making up the cots.  Day in and day out the tasks are always the same, the routine for the girls is the same, but when you are new and don't speak the language knowing what to do and how to do it and even how to BE is quite a shock to the system.  

As volunteers you feel conflicted about your role in these strangers' lives. You see what you interpret to be lives of suffering, but you also understand love and compassion at a much deeper level than you have before.  You confront how fake or real you are living your own life.  You realize that a person's eyes really ARE the window to their soul.  You realize that every human being has worth and is worthy of love, comfort, and connection.  You love these beautiful souls, these beautiful girls dearly.  And then you feel ashamed when you walk past homeless person after homeless person still looking away, still unable to fully love them too.  It is a humbling and transformative experience.

Due to Covid-19 I have not had the opportunity to return to Kolkata these past two years.  I would be there right now, if things were "normal."  But the two weeks I volunteered at the Missionaries of Charity will continue to influence how I move through this life.  So, Thank you, Kolkata.  Thank you, Mother Teresa. Thank you, Shanti-Dan girls, for everything.