Hello again dear friends,
It's hard to believe that we are in the final few days here in Kolkata. In one sense, the time has passed quickly, and yet at times it seems as if we have been here for a long time. We are so eager to arrive home safely and to see all of you - our loved ones - and we are also sad to leave the people and work we have grown to love here in India.
I'd like to share with you my reflections on the work I am doing. Along with Jerry and Mo, I am working at Kalighat - Mother Teresa's Home for the Dying and Destitute - it was the first home Mother Teresa founded. When we were asked to choose where we wanted to do service, I felt drawn to this place, I'm not sure why but I'm glad I had the opportunity to spend time in this special home.
I was a bit frightened on my first day. I wasn't sure what to expect or what I might see. I was not sure I would be able to be of helpful service and nervous about not knowing how to interact with the people of Kalighat. However, the day moved along fine and I had my first lesson about the tasks of each day. By the second day, I felt much more comfortable and by day three the 3 of us were the veterans trying to help the new volunteers.
Each day has a rhythm that now feels like a familiar dance. We arrive, do laundry, then patient care, and after a half hour break we serve lunch, clean up and do dishes, then finally retrieve the dry laundry and do as much folding as we can until noon. The work is physically demanding and it is hot. I will say a gratitude to my washing machine every time I do laundry in the future! However, I love the physical demand and the sweat. There is a quiet - and sometimes not so quiet - bonding as we all begin our day taking care of the basic need of cleaning clothes, sheets, and bed pads. Volunteers, massis, and nuns all huddle together over thigh-high tubs and pre-rinse, wash, rinse number one, rinse number two and finally carry the wash up to the roof to hang. There is a lot of laughter during this chore.
After laundry Jerry & Mo go the men's side and I to the women's side. My work has included giving lotion massages to heads, arms, hands, legs, & feet - assisting with bathroom trips and cleaning up the accidents that sometimes happen - assisting with medications (I have become the go to volunteer for applying scabies lotion) - exercise - and anything else the massis or nuns need help with. They call us "auntie" and when you hear the call you hustle to help! We heard that the massis could be tough on volunteers, but I have found ours to be hard-working, direct, and fun loving. I don't know the language so I'm not sure what they are saying most of the time. But the teasing and joyful laughter needs no common language.
After break - which is a wonderful time to visit with other volunteers from all over the world - we head back to give out lunch, collect plates when the women are finished, and do the dishes. The assembly line is similar to the wash - scrape, rinse, wash, rinse, rinse, dry and put away. The final task is to go to the roof and carry the dry laundry downstairs for folding. The folding is very precise - many of us have been chastised more than once for folding items incorrectly! We fold until noon and then leave for the day.
My initial fear has proven to be unnecessary. I have grown to have a quiet comfort at Kalighat. Along with the wonderful feeling that comes with the completion of the daily chores, my time with the women is a gift I will never forget. While two women are actively dying right now, the rest spend their days in the company of one another... living... waiting. This reality brings great sadness when I wonder what it is like for them. What do they think, how do they feel? But then I take time to sit and look around the ward and feel the peace, compassion, and tenderness that moves among all of us there at that moment. There is crying, pain, and suffering blended with care, kindness, and laughter. I wonder about the women who have dedicated their lives to this work. I honor them.
We are here to offer a little help for three weeks. However, I find that we are receiving so much more than we are giving. These women and men at Kalighat welcome us with grace. They allow us to spend this short time with them and connect with us with dignity and gratitude. I will feel sad to say good-bye on Friday. I will be forever grateful for this time spent at Kalighat, a home filled with grace.
Peace,
Linda Hollingdale
It's hard to believe that we are in the final few days here in Kolkata. In one sense, the time has passed quickly, and yet at times it seems as if we have been here for a long time. We are so eager to arrive home safely and to see all of you - our loved ones - and we are also sad to leave the people and work we have grown to love here in India.
I'd like to share with you my reflections on the work I am doing. Along with Jerry and Mo, I am working at Kalighat - Mother Teresa's Home for the Dying and Destitute - it was the first home Mother Teresa founded. When we were asked to choose where we wanted to do service, I felt drawn to this place, I'm not sure why but I'm glad I had the opportunity to spend time in this special home.
I was a bit frightened on my first day. I wasn't sure what to expect or what I might see. I was not sure I would be able to be of helpful service and nervous about not knowing how to interact with the people of Kalighat. However, the day moved along fine and I had my first lesson about the tasks of each day. By the second day, I felt much more comfortable and by day three the 3 of us were the veterans trying to help the new volunteers.
Each day has a rhythm that now feels like a familiar dance. We arrive, do laundry, then patient care, and after a half hour break we serve lunch, clean up and do dishes, then finally retrieve the dry laundry and do as much folding as we can until noon. The work is physically demanding and it is hot. I will say a gratitude to my washing machine every time I do laundry in the future! However, I love the physical demand and the sweat. There is a quiet - and sometimes not so quiet - bonding as we all begin our day taking care of the basic need of cleaning clothes, sheets, and bed pads. Volunteers, massis, and nuns all huddle together over thigh-high tubs and pre-rinse, wash, rinse number one, rinse number two and finally carry the wash up to the roof to hang. There is a lot of laughter during this chore.
After laundry Jerry & Mo go the men's side and I to the women's side. My work has included giving lotion massages to heads, arms, hands, legs, & feet - assisting with bathroom trips and cleaning up the accidents that sometimes happen - assisting with medications (I have become the go to volunteer for applying scabies lotion) - exercise - and anything else the massis or nuns need help with. They call us "auntie" and when you hear the call you hustle to help! We heard that the massis could be tough on volunteers, but I have found ours to be hard-working, direct, and fun loving. I don't know the language so I'm not sure what they are saying most of the time. But the teasing and joyful laughter needs no common language.
After break - which is a wonderful time to visit with other volunteers from all over the world - we head back to give out lunch, collect plates when the women are finished, and do the dishes. The assembly line is similar to the wash - scrape, rinse, wash, rinse, rinse, dry and put away. The final task is to go to the roof and carry the dry laundry downstairs for folding. The folding is very precise - many of us have been chastised more than once for folding items incorrectly! We fold until noon and then leave for the day.
My initial fear has proven to be unnecessary. I have grown to have a quiet comfort at Kalighat. Along with the wonderful feeling that comes with the completion of the daily chores, my time with the women is a gift I will never forget. While two women are actively dying right now, the rest spend their days in the company of one another... living... waiting. This reality brings great sadness when I wonder what it is like for them. What do they think, how do they feel? But then I take time to sit and look around the ward and feel the peace, compassion, and tenderness that moves among all of us there at that moment. There is crying, pain, and suffering blended with care, kindness, and laughter. I wonder about the women who have dedicated their lives to this work. I honor them.
We are here to offer a little help for three weeks. However, I find that we are receiving so much more than we are giving. These women and men at Kalighat welcome us with grace. They allow us to spend this short time with them and connect with us with dignity and gratitude. I will feel sad to say good-bye on Friday. I will be forever grateful for this time spent at Kalighat, a home filled with grace.
Peace,
Linda Hollingdale
You all have been so much on my mind, I love reading every word! Today has been a day especially that my thoughts have been with all of you and my bondhus in Kolkata. Out my office window earlier (Vermont) there was some sort of street noise, and all I could think of was the call to prayer -- even now it literally gives me chills to remember and feel. That was just a couple hours after running into my book from Father Brian, which I opened up by chance to this quote of MT's:
ReplyDelete"Seeking the face of God in everything, everyone, everywhere, all the time, and seeing His hand in every happening -- that is contemplation in the heart of the world."
My heart is with you and all the lives you have touched -- and those who have touched yours -- safe travels and namaste!