Missionaries of Charity

Our first full day in Calcutta dawned bright and early. We were ready to go by 6am. We took three cabs to get to the Motherhouse of the Missionaries of Charity (the order of nuns that Mother Teresa started). We were going to volunteer for the day wherever they decided to put us.
The morning at Motherhouse is very busy, a hub of foreigners. As you enter the compound the tomb of Mother Teresa is on your right, her old room a little further down to the left, and at the back is the volunteer room. They serve breakfast to the volunteers (we found out later) and the whole group prays and sings together before being sent out for the day. There were many, many volunteers. It was impressive to see the range of people that are drawn to help out the poor and broken of Calcutta through the legacy of Mother Teresa.
Some of our group went to Prem Dan, where there are men and women who are ill and dying, the other smaller group went to Shanti Dan where they have mentally and physically disabled girls and women.
Those of us at Prem Dan were directed to help out with the laundry first thing which was a good ease in for those of us who were nervous about being around people of such extreme circumstance. The rest of the day was caring for the residents, feeding them, lotioning their dry skin, cleaning their beds, smiling at them, shaving the with dull straight razors (a first for most).
The girls at Shanti Dan were given a little more of a learn as you go style. They were given a booklet to read which gave them the very basic idea of what they would be doing and then they went to it. They jumped in, helping in the classes offered to the girls, helped feed them, changed them, put them to bed, woke them up and played with them. The Shanti Dan experience was a bit much for those of the girls who have a healthcare background. The contrast of what kind of care they would have in Canada and the care they were receiving made it a long and trying day for all of them.
We met back at Motherhouse at the end of the day and it was a bit emotional for those who had had a trying day at Shanti Dan but it was something that really brought our team together and made us appreciate the fact that we had each other.
We were pretty exhausted but we went to a restaurant nearby to Motherhouse for dinner. Please ask a team member for a hilarious naan bread story. As soon as we had finished we went to the hotel and off to bed.