Day 9

Many groans were to be heard in St. Josephs this morning when our alarms sounded at 4:30 AM this morning. Bleary eyed and dazed, we made our way to the Mother House. After a lovely mass, we were treated to a Full Indian Breakfast (a slice of white bread and a green banana). We were then designated our positions for the day, with group A going to the Missionary orphanage and groups B and C going to a home for women with special needs.

Group A was split between the special needs children and the kindergarten children. Those with the kindergarten children played with them, dressed them and fed them. They did plenty of singing and dancing but found the day challenging with the children becoming more hyper as time went on. Four of the girls were with the special needs children, though nervous at first, they soon saw how happy a place it was and were immediately comforted. They each latched onto a child as soon as they walked in and enjoyed playing and singing to them. Grainne, Niamh and Lily were commended by their 40 minute impromptu concert where they performed lots of nursery rhymes with 'Row Your Boat' being a big hit. After their break they helped feed the children as most needed to be fed by someone else. They were then put to bed for their midday nap and this was when the girls had to leave. They had a great time there and were very sad to say goodbye.

Groups B and C were convinced by Sarah Maher that our day would be lucky after a bird pooed on her shoulder! This proved to be untrue almost immediately after when we discovered that we would be taking rickshaws to the the Missionaries of Charity women's centre, guided by a young Spanish priest in training from the Mother House. Many girls were very apprehensive and found the day challenging- doing laundry and caring for the women and girls who came from sometimes abusive families living on the street. We took a break at 10 after our long morning before restarting at our volunteer work. Our 12 o'clock finish couldn't come quick enough!  Exploring our way home was interesting and we got to see a different side of Kolkata. Once home we indulged in plenty of dairy milk and 7up after our long and arduous morning. 

We will be returning to teaching in St. Georges school tomorrow and looking forward to a great day!

We have no photographs today as cameras are not allowed in Mother Theresa's Missionaries.