Have you ever been in a crowd packed so tight that your feet almost come off
the ground completely? Me neither, until yesterday. I now know what it’s like
to be inside a can of sardines, but on the surface of the Sun and also all of
the sardines are moving.
Am I being dramatic?
Not as dramatic as you think, to be honest.
We loaded ourselves into a metro car that we definitely did not think we’d fit into or ever get out of and rode it 7 stops to the outskirts of the city where we were greeted by a gentle, giant man named Brother Xavier, and got into a van. We weaved through traffic until after a while the smog was clearing, city buildings were shrinking to small stone homes, and the road was turning from pavement to dirt. We stepped out of the van and through a gate to a path lined by smiling children waiting to greet us, and into a colorful oasis built on the principles of education, equality and opportunity.
"If we cannot find peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other" - Mother Teresa
Brother Xavier's school has 300 students who live there during the school year, and about 600 students in total. The opportunities presented to children at no cost to them or their families is unlike anything else in Kolkata. 75% of his students continue on with studies at a college or university after they graduate, and the students leave the school with supplementary education either working in bakeries, as beauticians, book making and binding, wood-working, and other skills which expand the possibilities that lie beyond their school years. When we met some of the students in the school's summer program, all we did that day was play, talk and hang out with them. But I think there is more to it than that. While watching a volleyball match between some students, I learned about the aspirations of one boy to pursue a career in engineering, and about how he dreams to provide for his future family in the way his father couldn't. I learned on a long, hot walk of the facilities that almost all of the food at the school is made or grown by the students and employees themselves. Through chalk drawings alone, I carried a full conversation with a child with whom I do not share a language.
Some of these nuanced interactions may not seem like much, but I am realizing that educating ourselves on the lives and circumstances of others is essential if we want to accomplish anything in this world, and that the idea of 'service' is more fluid that I think. Service is easy to digest when you can see the impact; building a house, serving a meal, painting a mural, cleaning a building, etc. That visible impact is not always so clear in our work at the Mother Teresa homes and in the schools we have visited. I am starting to feel that intangible piece of the service we do- the responsibility to each other which Mother Teresa stressed. I think we can all agree that educators provide a crucial service to this world, but not until now am I really recognizing that allowing oneself to be educated can also be a service. We are physically here, being of service to those we work with for these three weeks in Kolkata- but why should it end here? The lessons I am learning from people who may not think they are teaching, the perspective I am gaining from discomfort, and the humanity I am finding in places I didn't know I could is what will allow me to be of service well beyond my time here, I hope.
-Nichole Ciccarelli, '18
Am I being dramatic?
Not as dramatic as you think, to be honest.
We loaded ourselves into a metro car that we definitely did not think we’d fit into or ever get out of and rode it 7 stops to the outskirts of the city where we were greeted by a gentle, giant man named Brother Xavier, and got into a van. We weaved through traffic until after a while the smog was clearing, city buildings were shrinking to small stone homes, and the road was turning from pavement to dirt. We stepped out of the van and through a gate to a path lined by smiling children waiting to greet us, and into a colorful oasis built on the principles of education, equality and opportunity.
"If we cannot find peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other" - Mother Teresa
Brother Xavier's school has 300 students who live there during the school year, and about 600 students in total. The opportunities presented to children at no cost to them or their families is unlike anything else in Kolkata. 75% of his students continue on with studies at a college or university after they graduate, and the students leave the school with supplementary education either working in bakeries, as beauticians, book making and binding, wood-working, and other skills which expand the possibilities that lie beyond their school years. When we met some of the students in the school's summer program, all we did that day was play, talk and hang out with them. But I think there is more to it than that. While watching a volleyball match between some students, I learned about the aspirations of one boy to pursue a career in engineering, and about how he dreams to provide for his future family in the way his father couldn't. I learned on a long, hot walk of the facilities that almost all of the food at the school is made or grown by the students and employees themselves. Through chalk drawings alone, I carried a full conversation with a child with whom I do not share a language.
Some of these nuanced interactions may not seem like much, but I am realizing that educating ourselves on the lives and circumstances of others is essential if we want to accomplish anything in this world, and that the idea of 'service' is more fluid that I think. Service is easy to digest when you can see the impact; building a house, serving a meal, painting a mural, cleaning a building, etc. That visible impact is not always so clear in our work at the Mother Teresa homes and in the schools we have visited. I am starting to feel that intangible piece of the service we do- the responsibility to each other which Mother Teresa stressed. I think we can all agree that educators provide a crucial service to this world, but not until now am I really recognizing that allowing oneself to be educated can also be a service. We are physically here, being of service to those we work with for these three weeks in Kolkata- but why should it end here? The lessons I am learning from people who may not think they are teaching, the perspective I am gaining from discomfort, and the humanity I am finding in places I didn't know I could is what will allow me to be of service well beyond my time here, I hope.
-Nichole Ciccarelli, '18
Beautiful message!
ReplyDeleteYou captured the essence of service. Peace
ReplyDelete