Stark Reality
It's been an eventful past few days, and I should have known that volunteering for the Missionaries of Charity would have something to do with it.
I started my position as a volunteer English teacher of physically and mentally challenged kids at Shishu Bhavan on Friday. It's only a 3 1/2 hours per day, 3 days per week commitment, but it left me rather exhausted and hungry by lunchtime. When I got there to start my post the first day, I was rather unsure of exactly where to go. There was another Western couple who looked equally unsure of themselves, so I figured at least we can all look lost together. We struck up a conversation, and it turns out they are Italian. Both seemed pretty well eaten up by mosquitoes, and I quietly considered myself lucky that I hadn't had to deal with much of that. Eventually, we all figured out what was going on, and I was told to head upstairs to the handicapped kids' room.
It was a single, large room. There were perhaps 12 ceiling fans, but no air conditioning. It was a multi-purpose room. There were 2 rows of beds and 2 rows of cribs, about 25 in all. There were two eating areas, one for kids who couldn't sit up on their own while eating (either due to physical disability or age) and another for kids who could sit up. The classroom was a partitioned area in one corner. There were separate, yet connected, rooms for the bathrooms and the kitchen. While we were instructed to remove our shoes prior to entering, the floor somehow felt gritty, as though it hadn't been cleaned very well in a while. At some point, I realized that these kids spend pretty much their whole days here, and that if one kid gets sick, it's quite likely that it could spread rather quickly and affect everyone.
Eventually, I settled in (if you can call it settling in) and focused on the role I had with those kids. The class started at 9 with song after song, some in Bengali and some in English. Of course, I didn't know the Bengali songs, but they sounded fun. The kids were learning some English, and the sisters were glad to have an English teacher who was a native speaker, though the Bengali woman leading the class has good command of the language (and can translate the Bengali too). We broke for tea at 10, and I met a few other volunteers. There is a large number from Japan and most others are Spanish. There was another volunteer there from the US, and it was great to talk with another American. Most other volunteers are there for that purpose only, so they are only there for short-term, anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. I was the only long-term international volunteer.
When it was all over, I was really hungry and thankful that traffic wasn't so horrible for the ride home. Pratap was able to get me home in about 30 minutes or so. It was an exhausting morning.
That afternoon, I took the Little Guy to playgroup for about an hour. He tends to act aggressive when he's overstimulated, and he's not used to this playgroup. I felt like I spent pretty much the entire hour telling him not to hit other kids! Hopefully, he'll settle in to this new group soon, because I worry about him creating an issue.
Hubby and I had made plans to eat out that night, but our dinner reservation had to be postponed by 2 hours because of a power surge that destroyed our microwave and messed up the wiring circuit that powers our air conditioning, geysers, and OTG until we could get the part and get it fixed. So, here it was, 10 pm on Friday night and looking forward to spending a night in 30 Celcius (85 F) weather and no air conditioning. Fun! Luckily, we got the part and got it fixed the next afternoon.
On Monday, I went back to the volunteering. I met a really nice Hungarian woman, and we talked for a while. She teaches English language to adults, so she was in the classroom with me. She's only here for a week, since she's traveling around India and can only get a few weeks away from work, but it was really great to have someone to talk with.
I noticed when I got there that there are a huge number of supplies that they are lacking at Shushu Bhavan (the Children's Home). Lots of these things are easy to find in the States, but finding such items either in decent quality or at all is often impossible here in India. I decided to ask Sister where such items should be sent if I could find someone to donate, and she said she'd get back with me with the information and a list of items they need. When I get it from her, I'll post it here in case anyone here wants to help. Mother Theresa started a wonderful thing here, but it takes lots of continued support to run it.
There was a disturbing thing that happened right as I was leaving. (Please finish eating before you read any further unless you want to lose your lunch!) The children were finishing their lunch, and I noticed one of the older girls walking away from the table with food all over her face, so I went to wipe it with her bib. All of a sudden, huge amounts of snot started gushing out her nose! I was gagging for 5 minutes, not because I'm some princess wannabe who isn't used to bodily functions (I have a 2 year old, remember?), but because I felt sorry for the poor girl. I realized that it's just so easy for germs to spread here to make everyone sick.
It's crazy. I feel so lucky that I grew up relatively privileged, even though I grew up in middle class America. I have my health, and we're financially stable. In India, we're considered "rich", though I hardly feel I deserve any of it. This girl, even as snot is pouring out her nose, probably feels lucky too -- at least lucky that she gets 3 meals per day, even if she hardly leaves that one room. She's luckier than the street kids who are tied up in criminal gangs who profit from begging. It really puts things in perspective.
There but by the grace of God go I!
