For this post, we've split it up into two sections so that we both can talk a little bit about our work at Shanti Dan. We work in separate areas with different girls, so it makes sense :)
(P.S. The pics don't actually go with the text. We just wanted to share them.)
Elaina's Thoughts:
I have good news! After working at Shanti Dan for a few weeks, I FINALLY
feel like I'm helping instead of being a burden! :) It took some time
for me to get adjusted, but now I am 100% at ease. I love waking up
every morning, knowing that I get to spend time with my little
"flowers." (As well as the girls who are not in my group!) Laundry has
become a particular annoyance of mine since it prevents me from seeing
my girls as soon as we get to Shanti Dan. I suppose the volunteering
can't be ALL fun and games :)
Hanging out in a monsoon - this is how we do laundry.
Apart from laundry duties, it has been such an experience to learn more
about each girl with every passing day. Buni can handle almost any
little math problem that I throw at her. Her face lights up when I hand
her a piece of paper with a few addition problems on it. Her writing is
sloppy because of physical disabilities but she doesn't seem to mind and
neither do I. After all, practice makes perfect! The trick is getting
her to work on the alphabet when all she wants to do is math! Isha has
beautiful penmanship and can copy down anything that I write. Now I am
working on trying to make sure she KNOWS what she is writing, instead of
simply copying down symbols. I like to draw pictures above the word and
quiz her on them later! Maria Usha cannot speak and she is confined to a
wheelchair, but I no longer let that fool me! She is incredibly
intelligent. She understands my English and can easily sort pictures
into categories. She also has a great sense of humor and we always end
up laughing when we should be working! At first glance these girls might
not look like they can do much, but their skills have greatly surpassed
my expectations. I feel so horrible that I underestimated them! Now
that I know each girl's skills, I can challenge them appropriately. I
only wish I could have more one on one time with each girl. I can't sit
down with one girl for more than a minute before I hear "Auntie! Auntie!
Come!" There are about 18 flowers and only a few other people to help.
(One other volunteer and one or two women who work there.) We do what we
can to make sure each girl gets the attention they deserve.
Spending time at Seva Kendra with girls from the slums.
As can be expected, there are still parts of the day that take a toll on
me emotionally - particularly nap time. It isn't the poopy diapers or
the bed wetting that bothers me anymore (I am quite used to it by now!)
but instead my heart just aches for these girls. I can see the physical
scars on their bodies as well as the emotional scars in their tears. I
don't know their life stories but I can only imagine what some of them
have been through. In the beginning I was afraid I wouldn't be able to
see God in these girls, but that is no longer an issue. I see him in
each and every one of them and he is teaching me how to love them. The
tasks that I have to complete aren't glamorous but for some reason I
find myself laughing a lot and I always have a smile on my face. I guess
I am slowly learning what it really means to love my fellow human
being- whether it is by teaching these girls the alphabet or changing
soiled bed sheets.
Heide's Thoughts:
There's so much for me to say about Shanti Dan, it's hard to begin.
After working at Shanti Dan for almost three weeks, I'm getting very attached to the place. I don't think we mentioned this before, but Shanti Dan is not the first choice of many volunteers. First of all, only female volunteers can work there. Second of all, it's comparatively difficult work, at least, that's what other volunteers tell us. I've only worked at Shanti Dan, so I don't have anything to compare it to. I'm sure the other apostolates have to deal with just as much work as we do, yet when new volunteers come in, they don't typically choose Shanti Dan as their placement.
We fly. (Watch our video to know a little about Bindis aka the designs on our faces)
Despite this, I'm so thankful that God guided us to work there. Longer term volunteers are just what Shanti Dan needs, because many of the girls need consistent one-on-one time. My work has slightly changed from what I started out doing - I now spend my whole morning doing physical therapy and massage with the girls, assisting with the Angels and Stars (girls who are mentally handicapped and blind) lunchtime routines. It usually gets messy, but it can also be a lot of fun.
One girl in particular just kills me. Her name is Shakina and she's incredibly funny. She has the happiest disposition, clapping and laughing at just about anything. She also has a naughty streak, and she'll regularly poke the Mashis just to get reprimanded. She'll also bug the other girls by sticking her fingers in their ears or pulling at their clothing. It's hilarious, because she's like a small child, though I believe her actual age is around 18 or 19. She loves anything slapstick and even does a little herself at times. For example, at lunchtime, if she sees an open plate of food (that someone else is eating from), like lightening she'll grab the food and stuff it in her mouth, then chuckle about it.
In saris on the steps of a Hindu temple. Watch our video for more!
Shakina is one of several girls who have made a place in my heart. I simply love being at Shanti Dan. There's so much joy and learning and sacrifice and love that it's hard to imagine myself at any other placement. Of course, there are lots of challenges, but honestly it's amazing how easy it is to do the dirty work when it's done from love. I don't know if I've ever been able to love like this before, but I'm humbled that God's grace has surpassed my selfishness in the moments I need it most. All I want is the best for these girls, and if I can help make that happen by learning what they need, I will. It takes time, I know, and while India is a tough place to live, I'm so grateful that we have several more weeks here explicitly for that purpose.
Well folks, our actual mission work has begun! After a few days of trying to settle into the
culture, Heide and I began volunteering.
Every morning we wake up at 4:30am, and walk about 30 minutes to the
“Motherhouse” to attend daily mass. We
also get to pray over Mother Teresa’s tomb afterwards, which is very exciting
for both of us! (Let us know if you have
any special prayer intentions and we will pray for you while there!) After mass
we walk, take a 15 minute bus ride, and walk some more to a place called Shanti
Dan - our volunteer headquarters for the next nine weeks.
One of the views from our morning walk
Shanti Dan is a home for mentally
and physically disabled girls and young women.
The girls are divided into groups based on their abilities (Flowers, Birds, Angels, Butterflies, Stars, and Rainbows) and depending
on how many volunteers there are, each group gets one or two. Heide spends her mornings with the Angels (girls in wheelchairs, with very low comprehension)
and Butterflies (lowest comprehending girls that don't have physical disabilities) doing physical therapy for the ones that need it and playing
with the others. For a film studies major with no background in physical
therapy, Heide sure has caught on quick and she is amazing with the girls.
I can tell it wears on her emotionally at
times, but she carries herself with complete grace and I can already see the
girls becoming attached. I spend my
mornings with the Flowers (Girls with moderate learning disabilities and some also have physical disabilities) – teaching them math, writing, and of course
speaking English. At times I have no
idea how to reach them but any frustrations I may have are instantly wiped away
when I hear them call me “auntie” or I see them make progress in their
schooling. I am becoming very attached
to all of my Flowers and I know that will continue to grow over the
summer.
This dumpster is part of our walk to Shanti Dan
After the physical therapy,
playtime, and lessons are over, next comes the more difficult part of our day –
lunch and naptime. Lunchtime is somewhat
chaotic as we try and help the girls eat.
They all have such varying levels of mental and physical disabilities
that sometimes it is hard to tell which girls need help and which would rather
try it on their own. On my first day one
of the girls laughed at me, grabbed the spoon, and lovingly told me “Auntie, I
can do it!” They really are very sweet
girls and they make us smile. After
lunch we take them to the dormitory, help each girl into their bed, and change
diapers. It is very eye-opening and a
little overwhelming to stand in a room full of so many girls with obvious
disabilities who need so much care. I find
myself wishing that they had been born with the same opportunities that Heide
and I were. I have to remind myself not
to be bitter, but instead happy because God created them for a reason! He loves
them, and so do we. He thinks they are
beautiful and therefore we do too. I
have a strong feeling that Heide and I are going to end up needing these girls
just as much, if not more, than they need us.
SO MUCH LOVE
Eli and Heide
On a side note, Heide and I are not
allowed to film or take pictures while we are working. The sisters, as well as Heide and I, want to
protect their privacy! Therefore, any
videos we make will be mostly about our life outside of volunteering in Kolkata
and maybe some reflections. We will of
course still write about how volunteering is going since that is why we are
here! It might get a little sappy at
times but we want our readers to be a part of the emotional roller
coaster. We hope you will enjoy our
videos as well as our posts, and as always – keep us in your prayers!
Photo Booth with street kids... for some reason many Indians don't smile for pictures
Heide and I
arose bright and early for our first full day in Kolkata.When I say bright and early, I really mean
4am.The jet lag got the best of us and
we just couldn’t sleep any longer.Fortunately for us, the sun rises at about 4:30am over here.We opened our door and were instantly
overwhelmed by the heat and humidity in the hallway.Apparently neither of those things subsides,
no matter the time of day. After hanging around Seva Kendra for a while and
eating a very spicy breakfast, Father Franklin dropped us off at the
market.We had no idea where we were or
how we were supposed to get home but it was an excellent way to immerse us into
the culture.
Heide in her salwar-kameez (total cost = $20)
We walked
the streets mostly in silence, as we were both experiencing sensory
overload. There was just so much to look
at. We saw everything from small
children sleeping on pieces of cardboard, to people carrying around live
chickens and men bathing in the streets.
We kept our sunglasses on but we still got plenty of strange looks. Never in my life have I felt so many eyes on
me while walking through a public place. The shopkeepers asked us to come into
their stores, men whistled at us and called us beautiful, and little children
came up and asked us for money – clearly trying to play the “adorable
card.” In addition to all the
interesting sights, the streets of Kolkata also have a lot of…..interesting
smells. The combination of deep fat fryers,
sewage, and garbage, is enough to make anyone a little queasy. The 110 degree heat doesn’t help with that at
all. Hopefully it is something Heide and
I will get used to over time.
Salwars are surprisingly light and airy :)
As you can
probably imagine, after about ten minutes on the street, Heide and I
desperately needed a place to sit and relax.
We made our way to Blue Sky Café, a popular stop for tourists, and
collapsed into our chairs. We were hot,
sweaty, tired, and a little overwhelmed by our first view of the streets. We drank some coffee and had some toast while
we discussed what life is going to be like for us over the next ten weeks. We came to the conclusion that it is going to
be difficult yet so incredible at the same time. We can’t wait until we become “experts” in
the Indian culture. It will take a while
but we learn something new every day. It
might sound like a difficult place to live, and at times it will be, but the
culture is beautiful and we are learning to love it and the people with every
passing day.
Our building at Seva Kendra
On our
second full day, Fr. Franklin recommended that we take a trip to the mall to
get the few things that we hadn’t brought (watch the video to see how that
went!) We were completely shocked by the luxurious four-story mall because it
was nothing like what we had seen the previous day. We had been living around such extreme poverty
that we almost forgot such nice things existed.
We felt like horrible people for admitting this, but it was nice to be
surrounded by something so “first-world” for a short while. We successfully purchased everything we
needed and headed back into the slum area.
Our life here isn’t glamorous, if
you can’t already tell, but that is exactly why we are here. We both need a new
perspective on what it means to be human and we think that we’ve absolutely
come to the right place. India is overwhelmingly tough, but with God’s grace,
we’re handling it (so far…)
After a
relaxing yet eventful few days in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Heide and I finally
began the journey we have been anxiously awaiting for the past few months. We said our goodbyes to Father Bob and other
friends, and boarded our first flight from Detroit to Newark.
At the airport in Detroit
We then flew from Newark to Mumbai where we
stayed the night in the airport before boarding our 6am flight to Kolkata. Overall we spent about 36 hours in airports
and on airplanes before reaching our destination. We tried to make the best of it (Heide
handled it a little more gracefully than myself) but the jetlag wasn’t treating
either of us very well. We drank lots of
coffee, tried to take power naps in random places, and talked about the days to
come.
$200 worth of rupees.... roughly 9600 :D
We finally
arrived in Kolkata at about 9am. We were
exhausted but ready to take on the day.
We successfully managed to get out of the airport without being bothered
too much and we made it into a taxicab.
The taxi ride to Seva Kendra was about 20 minutes long and quite
eventful to say the least. There don’t
appear to be any sort of traffic laws here but the locals do an excellent job
of weaving in and out of traffic without getting into an accident. Heide and I wouldn’t last five seconds if we
had to drive in Kolkata.
We arrived
at Seva Kendra and were extremely happy to finally be at our destination.
Our room is very comfortable and I know we
are going to enjoy living here over the next ten weeks. Everyone here is very friendly and the food
is fantastic. Even though we were
exhausted and a little culture shocked, Heide and I couldn’t help but smile. We are so thankful that we made it here
safely and we are so grateful towards the people who made it possible for
us. I won’t pretend to know what the
following days will bring, but I do know that Heide and I were brought here for
a reason.
We know we can’t take India
out of poverty single-handedly, but we can try and add to the love that is
already here.
