Friday morning was an absolutely surreal experience. We took a journey uptown to the Mother Teresa home for the Missionaries of Charity. It is the place where Mother Teresa used to reside and work in. We arrived just before 6am to join the sisters for mass. While trying to find the area where the mass was held, we were guided by the sound of the nuns singing. They sounded like harmonizing angels. There was a big room filled with them. Half of them dressed in the same garments as Mother Teresa, the other half still learning and wearing all white.
The mass was a traditional catholic ceremony. I remember sitting there and just feeling so overwhelmed with joy and appreciation that I could celebrate mass where one of my biggest role models used to reside. It was as if a dream came true that I had never formally acknowledged.
The area where we sat was for the other people who wanted to see and participate. So there were quite a few white people. After the mass, we followed them out and downstairs to join them for a breakfast that the sisters provided. It consisted of bananas, bread with nutella or pb, and tea. It was so nice being able to get to know some of the other young people who were there as missionaries to volunteer or just to visit. The biggest surprise was that one of the sisters gave us a day pass to be able to volunteer. You would usually need to go certain days in the afternoon to complete a full registration. Nonetheless, we were able to spend the whole morning working in the home for children with special needs. Most of the children had cerebral palsy or mental retardation. They were so so adorable and lovable. We helped to feed them, change them, play with them, and at the end, put them to bed for their afternoon nap. It was so very special.
It turns out that the original mother Teresa home is right by where I usually work and it is the center for the dying and destitute. So I am going to try to work there in the mornings until noon, and then go to the other shelters to teach the older children my lessons. I will be educating them on different first aid techniques such as care for burns, choking, bleeding, animal/bug bites, infections, stomach problems, and lice. All very prominent issues they deal with over here.
The remainder of the afternoon I was able to spend with the women involved with the Anchal Project. The project creates alternative avenues of employment and income for exited or ready to exit sex workers and other distressed women. They do so by training the women to produce Kantha embroidery work. It is where they take old sarees (the outfits the women wear here) and do some embroidered stitch work to create something new such as blankets, scarves, and bags. I bought two blankets already and will probably get some more as souvenirs. I will post pictures on Facebook if anyone is interested in purchasing something. They are like $20-40 and the smallest scarf takes a few weeks to complete. Other projects take months so they really are amazing. Plus it helps women stay out of prostitution and off the streets!!
We spent the remainder of the evening with the children of New Light and then headed back to rest. This weekend has been unbearably hot so we are laying pretty low. Anyways, that's it for now! Thanks for checking in!
Meet 3 times a week to turn old sarees into beautiful blankets to sell.
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