Ellen Here:
Kolkata was so much more then I expected it to be. We have received the royal treatment from some family friends and were able to stay at an wonderful old club in the great area of town were everything was walkable. It funny for Gillian to have 3 people serving at one meal while for most of the trip we have been having to chase people down or serve ourselves.
Kolkata was so much more then I expected it to be. We have received the royal treatment from some family friends and were able to stay at an wonderful old club in the great area of town were everything was walkable. It funny for Gillian to have 3 people serving at one meal while for most of the trip we have been having to chase people down or serve ourselves.
The main reasons why I like Kolkata so much more then Delhi is that it is smaller and everything is accessible by foot or metro.
It is a really unique city because it is stuck between many worlds. The city is only 300 years old and was built by the British as its capital. The city was the major Asian port for hundreds of years. It is influenced by British, Persians, and Chinese which all mixed and then are over laid with the Indian Culture. All of these flavors of Kolkata's past are still alive and well in the city put many are stuck in different time periods.
The decaying mansions from the days of the Raj stand next to the new condos going up faster then the ones in Williamsburg.
I was able volunteer in Kolkata and it has had the most impact on me since my time in India. I was a volunteer at for the Missionaries of Charity, the order that Mother Theresa started in Kolkata.
I was only able to spend a day working for them because we made not planed anytime but the one day was enough to see how they ran their ship and really experience it.
A volunteers day starts at 6 am with mass and then tea at the Mother House were everyone gathers daily to get their assignment for the day. The Missionaries of Charity have many hositals, orphanages, and outreach centers through Kolkata and now even around the world. So, I only had expired at one of their hospitals.
At the hospital I worked at, the women work in the womens ward the men in the mens ward. We helped for about a hour washing all the langury and then we spent the better part of our morning just sitting and being with the women on the pourch while the beds were all changes.
The women in this hospital had anything from burn victims to mental illness. But the most important thing was that they were all loved. The work at the hospitals all was done by the sisters or the staff. They were not dependent on volunteers to get the work done. The role of the volunteer was to provide the TLC and a loving touch to these women.
The volunteers really just massaged them and painted their nails. We also feed them at meal times. Even though this seems like a simple and little job, I think that it was one of the most important and most impactful. Everyone needs to know that they are loved and a valued human being no matter what their state of health.
One of Mothere Theresa's major missions was to love everyone and make sure that even the poorest of the poor and the sickest of the sick felt loved. The amazing thing about the Missionaries of Charity is that this is the exact role that their volunteers play and the mission of Mother Theresa is still the main foucs.
Every volunteers that I met was also a blessing to me. There were people form all over the world volunteerting for one day to 6 months at a time. To be able to talk to each of them and find out everyones reasons for being there was a incredable too.
Kolkata was an wonderful way to end India, and I would love to go back there soon to volunteer for a longer amount of tme. We have made it to Vietnam and are running around in Ho Chi Mihn City so stay tuned....
The women in this hospital had anything from burn victims to mental illness. But the most important thing was that they were all loved. The work at the hospitals all was done by the sisters or the staff. They were not dependent on volunteers to get the work done. The role of the volunteer was to provide the TLC and a loving touch to these women.
The volunteers really just massaged them and painted their nails. We also feed them at meal times. Even though this seems like a simple and little job, I think that it was one of the most important and most impactful. Everyone needs to know that they are loved and a valued human being no matter what their state of health.
One of Mothere Theresa's major missions was to love everyone and make sure that even the poorest of the poor and the sickest of the sick felt loved. The amazing thing about the Missionaries of Charity is that this is the exact role that their volunteers play and the mission of Mother Theresa is still the main foucs.
Every volunteers that I met was also a blessing to me. There were people form all over the world volunteerting for one day to 6 months at a time. To be able to talk to each of them and find out everyones reasons for being there was a incredable too.
Kolkata was an wonderful way to end India, and I would love to go back there soon to volunteer for a longer amount of tme. We have made it to Vietnam and are running around in Ho Chi Mihn City so stay tuned....
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