Gretchen, Evelyn and I went to Kolkata for our Diwali break. Many people thought we were crazy. Kolkata is not known as a vacation spot :) We did some sight seeing etc, but the main reason we went was to volunteer with Missionaries of Charity. Here is more information.
Many of the people that volunteer stay in very cheap places and eat street food etc. We stayed in a nicer hotel and ate in restaurants. We live in India! and need a little vacation from it. Mother House was about a 20 minute walk from the hotel. On Monday afternoon we were to orientation. The Missionaries of Charity is a big organization and there are multiple sites. The orientation was a few blocks from the Mother House. There were about 30 people at the orientation. There were people from all walks of life there. Leo - a young Chinese pre med student who wanted to work with the destitute and dying. Angel- a social worker from Taiwan who was spending a month here. Cheryl a police officer from Singapore spending two weeks of her vacation here. Mathew- an American in his late twenties who comes every year for his vacation- this is his fourth time. A German girl on her gap year. Tarin a teacher who did not get asked back at her school so she came here for 6 months. Kikimo - a Japanese woman who smoked constantly and used the f word every 3 words. A couple from France spending a month here. Stephanie who will be here for a year and has boundless energy and love. Ericka an American who is a Mennonite doing her year of missions and got a week off and chose to spend it at mother house :) Amy - an Austrailian who lives in Bangladesh as a trailing "spouse" for her partner who works there. She has to leave the country every month for visa reasons. she'd been volunteering for a few days. We bonded over laundry. It was our favorite job because it felt like we accomplished something.
We were all given information to read about the area we were working in and the people we would encounter. I'm sure if you came directly from a 1st world country it would seem really overwhelming! Because we live in India - we knew a lot of what they told us. Don't give money to the street people - it encourages begging (many don't do it out of need - they do it as a job). Giving that way disrupts work that reputable organizations are doing. Don't be charmed by cute kids and people calling you aunty and uncle. Don't hug or cuddle with street children - it blurs boundaries for them and they are more likely to be victims of sexual predators. Don't eat anything anyone gives you. etc. etc. They described the different houses you could volunteer in. There are houses for small children. There is a house for disabled teen girls and women. A house for disabled men. Kalighat - the house for the destitute and dying. A house for lepers. (the brothers run that and you can volunteer on Thursdays when you can't work at the ones the sisters run). You can request what house you want to volunteer at, but they can put you wherever they need you. I filled out my card and requested Shanti Dan - a house for teen girls and women. We each had an appointment with a nun and she granted my placement. She must have been an American - she commented that she hadn't heard the name Bobbi Jo in years - she said I must be from the south.
The sisters hold mass as 6:30 am and serve the volunteers breakfast at 7:30 - bread and bananas. There were over 60 volunteers there Tuesday morning. We start every morning with a prayer and a song. The sisters ask if it is anyones last day of volunteering and they sing a thank you song for them. Then we all head off to our respective houses. Gretchen, Evelyn and I walked the 20 minutes to the bus stop - it was our first time riding a city bus! We rode the bus about 15 minutes and then had to walk about 7 minutes to the facility. I was expecting it to be right off the streets of Kolkata - loud and crazy. But it was in a nice compound! Like a school campus. There were about 63 girls there and probably that many on the women's side. Normally volunteers do laundry every morning but we were late due to a nun's jubilee service. I was placed with the girls. They are divided into categories by ability. There are a few girls that can talk and more that can walk, but most are profoundly disabled. I worked with the stars - blind girls. There were about 9 girls in this small room multi sensory room. 5 could walk - four were in a wheel chair and none of them could speak. We played music and helped the girls make noise with rattles, drums etc. I worked a lot with tuntuni - I would shake a rattle in her ear, then put it in here hand and have her shake it. She would slap me and hand it back - she wanted me to hold it :) Camelia would rock a little to the music. Metel would pull at her hair and she loved to claw people - OW!! I got multiple scratches from her.
Lunch time - it was fish and we had to debone it and mash it up in the rice so the girls could eat with their hands or we would feed them. After we cleaned them up from lunch we would change their diapers and put them to bed.
We took the bus back and walked the 40 minutes to the hotel and took a nap!
On Tuesday we got there early enough to do laundry. Every day TONS of laundry is done by hand in buckets. After rinsing we ring out the clothes and haul them to the roof to hang them to dry. It is backbreaking fulfilling work. Some of the more functioning girls and women help with the laundry and would point and make noises if we did something wrong! After Laundry I helped feed some of the most disabled girls before we fed the others. It really bothered me how impatient some of the Mashis (workers) and long term volunteers would get. I fed the girls pretty slowly because they had trouble chewing and swallowing and I didn't want to choke them. The Mashis would hold the girls' heads back and shovel food in. I couldn't stand the choking noises. I understand this is a huge organization and they have a schedule, but it's not like the girls are going anywhere or doing anything - I couldn't understand why they were in such a hurry. What's the big deal if I spend 10 extra minutes feeding a girl? A few times, I helped Kikimo change girls that pooped in their diaper. It is a very hard process. These girls are teens and are heavy. I'd grab their shoulders and Kikimo would take their legs and we'd carry them to the bathroom. I'd hold the girl up the best I could to help keep them from getting wet on the floor as Kikimo hosed them off. I don't mind changing poopy diapers when I have rags and wet wipes etc Kikimo just shoved her hand in the girls' butt and scrubbed. She complained about getting poop in her fingernails. I asked how she made sure to clean it out because typhoid is a huge issue in India - I've had friends get it. she said she justt didn't eat with her left hand. That's what Indian's do - their left hand is reserved for cleaning their butt and they don't eat with it or shake hands with it.
We fed the girls and lifted them into bed. I changed a lot of sheets and diapers. The amount of laundry is unbelievable.
I'm glad we volunteered there. It was extremely rewarding and eyeopening. It would be hard to volunteer there long term. Some of the long term volunteers seemed jaded and impatient and I could see why. One woman - Stephanie - stood out. I was so awed by her compassion and joyful serving. She'd been there for months and wasn't impatient - she didn't choke girls when they ate, she washed them gently, and she hugged or patted every girl she passed. She is someone that will remain in my heart for a long time. :)
Here is a blog I found that echos some of my thoughts. Wandering Earl's Blog
Picture are prohibited so I found a few off the internet to give you an idea of what it looked like.
Many of the people that volunteer stay in very cheap places and eat street food etc. We stayed in a nicer hotel and ate in restaurants. We live in India! and need a little vacation from it. Mother House was about a 20 minute walk from the hotel. On Monday afternoon we were to orientation. The Missionaries of Charity is a big organization and there are multiple sites. The orientation was a few blocks from the Mother House. There were about 30 people at the orientation. There were people from all walks of life there. Leo - a young Chinese pre med student who wanted to work with the destitute and dying. Angel- a social worker from Taiwan who was spending a month here. Cheryl a police officer from Singapore spending two weeks of her vacation here. Mathew- an American in his late twenties who comes every year for his vacation- this is his fourth time. A German girl on her gap year. Tarin a teacher who did not get asked back at her school so she came here for 6 months. Kikimo - a Japanese woman who smoked constantly and used the f word every 3 words. A couple from France spending a month here. Stephanie who will be here for a year and has boundless energy and love. Ericka an American who is a Mennonite doing her year of missions and got a week off and chose to spend it at mother house :) Amy - an Austrailian who lives in Bangladesh as a trailing "spouse" for her partner who works there. She has to leave the country every month for visa reasons. she'd been volunteering for a few days. We bonded over laundry. It was our favorite job because it felt like we accomplished something.
We were all given information to read about the area we were working in and the people we would encounter. I'm sure if you came directly from a 1st world country it would seem really overwhelming! Because we live in India - we knew a lot of what they told us. Don't give money to the street people - it encourages begging (many don't do it out of need - they do it as a job). Giving that way disrupts work that reputable organizations are doing. Don't be charmed by cute kids and people calling you aunty and uncle. Don't hug or cuddle with street children - it blurs boundaries for them and they are more likely to be victims of sexual predators. Don't eat anything anyone gives you. etc. etc. They described the different houses you could volunteer in. There are houses for small children. There is a house for disabled teen girls and women. A house for disabled men. Kalighat - the house for the destitute and dying. A house for lepers. (the brothers run that and you can volunteer on Thursdays when you can't work at the ones the sisters run). You can request what house you want to volunteer at, but they can put you wherever they need you. I filled out my card and requested Shanti Dan - a house for teen girls and women. We each had an appointment with a nun and she granted my placement. She must have been an American - she commented that she hadn't heard the name Bobbi Jo in years - she said I must be from the south.
The sisters hold mass as 6:30 am and serve the volunteers breakfast at 7:30 - bread and bananas. There were over 60 volunteers there Tuesday morning. We start every morning with a prayer and a song. The sisters ask if it is anyones last day of volunteering and they sing a thank you song for them. Then we all head off to our respective houses. Gretchen, Evelyn and I walked the 20 minutes to the bus stop - it was our first time riding a city bus! We rode the bus about 15 minutes and then had to walk about 7 minutes to the facility. I was expecting it to be right off the streets of Kolkata - loud and crazy. But it was in a nice compound! Like a school campus. There were about 63 girls there and probably that many on the women's side. Normally volunteers do laundry every morning but we were late due to a nun's jubilee service. I was placed with the girls. They are divided into categories by ability. There are a few girls that can talk and more that can walk, but most are profoundly disabled. I worked with the stars - blind girls. There were about 9 girls in this small room multi sensory room. 5 could walk - four were in a wheel chair and none of them could speak. We played music and helped the girls make noise with rattles, drums etc. I worked a lot with tuntuni - I would shake a rattle in her ear, then put it in here hand and have her shake it. She would slap me and hand it back - she wanted me to hold it :) Camelia would rock a little to the music. Metel would pull at her hair and she loved to claw people - OW!! I got multiple scratches from her.
Lunch time - it was fish and we had to debone it and mash it up in the rice so the girls could eat with their hands or we would feed them. After we cleaned them up from lunch we would change their diapers and put them to bed.
We took the bus back and walked the 40 minutes to the hotel and took a nap!
On Tuesday we got there early enough to do laundry. Every day TONS of laundry is done by hand in buckets. After rinsing we ring out the clothes and haul them to the roof to hang them to dry. It is backbreaking fulfilling work. Some of the more functioning girls and women help with the laundry and would point and make noises if we did something wrong! After Laundry I helped feed some of the most disabled girls before we fed the others. It really bothered me how impatient some of the Mashis (workers) and long term volunteers would get. I fed the girls pretty slowly because they had trouble chewing and swallowing and I didn't want to choke them. The Mashis would hold the girls' heads back and shovel food in. I couldn't stand the choking noises. I understand this is a huge organization and they have a schedule, but it's not like the girls are going anywhere or doing anything - I couldn't understand why they were in such a hurry. What's the big deal if I spend 10 extra minutes feeding a girl? A few times, I helped Kikimo change girls that pooped in their diaper. It is a very hard process. These girls are teens and are heavy. I'd grab their shoulders and Kikimo would take their legs and we'd carry them to the bathroom. I'd hold the girl up the best I could to help keep them from getting wet on the floor as Kikimo hosed them off. I don't mind changing poopy diapers when I have rags and wet wipes etc Kikimo just shoved her hand in the girls' butt and scrubbed. She complained about getting poop in her fingernails. I asked how she made sure to clean it out because typhoid is a huge issue in India - I've had friends get it. she said she justt didn't eat with her left hand. That's what Indian's do - their left hand is reserved for cleaning their butt and they don't eat with it or shake hands with it.
We fed the girls and lifted them into bed. I changed a lot of sheets and diapers. The amount of laundry is unbelievable.
I'm glad we volunteered there. It was extremely rewarding and eyeopening. It would be hard to volunteer there long term. Some of the long term volunteers seemed jaded and impatient and I could see why. One woman - Stephanie - stood out. I was so awed by her compassion and joyful serving. She'd been there for months and wasn't impatient - she didn't choke girls when they ate, she washed them gently, and she hugged or patted every girl she passed. She is someone that will remain in my heart for a long time. :)
Here is a blog I found that echos some of my thoughts. Wandering Earl's Blog
Picture are prohibited so I found a few off the internet to give you an idea of what it looked like.
