Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity

I arrived this morning in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. I am here to work at an ashram set up to care for young children, 0 to 6 years old. It says in Planet Yoga Travel Guide that this is a place to work with babies who have been abandoned. Today, I worked with seven children, 2 to 4 years old. To say the least, it was mind blowing. To hear their stories from the sisters who work there, it was heart breaking.

I cannot speak their first language so I have an extra challenge. Thinking back on the day though, it may have actually been an advantage. I got pretty frustrated when they would cry and hit each other because they couldn't understand my scolding. But now I see we were communicating on a different level. I could only see pure emotion from them. And they could use my tone of voice, my facial expressions and my finger wagging, "No, no, no!" Some of the children ran right to me and jumped in my arms. Others were shy, like one older girl. She wouldn't smile or come to me at all. Eventually though, as she saw I was having fun with the other children she started to warm up.

The children have a plastic rocking horse that holds three. Each time they got on it, I started to sing Rock-a-Bye-Baby. They tried to imitate me and it really helped them slow down. They seem so out of touch, not having the undivided attention of one mother. I suppose it's like having quadruplets. They all fight and tell on each other. There is a lot of fighting. It seems like they all want all of the attention. They were all over me though.

It was fun at first and then I started to feel overwhelmed. It is just my first day and I put in about 5 hours non-stop playing with them. They have toys and some coloring books and a young local woman from town came to visit them today. She comes every Saturday and brings them candy. Very popular!

Just before I left, 20 teenage school children came to visit, walking single file through the room filled with cribs where most of the children sleep. I was holding a 2 year old boy who cries every time I put him down. I watched the kids filing through while their teacher took pictures of them holding different children. One little girl about 3 was really shy and wouldn't even look at me for a long time when I arrived this morning. Eventually she was sitting on my lap and playing but it was difficult for her, I could tell.

Well, when the visitor came through, the 3 year old was in a crib and one of the women working here forced her to be held by one of the schoolgirls. My heart throbbed as she was forced into the girl's arms. The school kids don't mean any harm of course, but the look on that little girl's face nearly killed me. I just wanted to run up and grab her and run away. I feel really protective of them already. The children have a minimum two month stay here. After that they go up for adoption. I'm told that there are more people wanting babies then the ashram has. But some of these kids have obvious emotional problems.

One story I was told was that one of the girls about 4 was burned by her mother and then sold. I'm not sure how she came here but she was very hostile towards the other children. The sisters tell me that many young mothers go into the hospital to have their babies and then just leave. There are a few tiny babies here and two with mental illness. They all get the same amount of attention and all seem very well taken care of. They are so lucky to have this place to call home for now. I have to get used to their way of doing things though. The little ones don't have diapers and the older ones pee their pants. I watched a 4 year old just stand there and go. The other children all pointed at the ground and shouted something in Hindi. I really want to learn the language so my next visit is easier to communicate. Just imagine how it would be if I could talk to everyone. (I know I would get better prices on everything, especially the cabs!!)

Anyway, I have met some very wonderful young women here who actually worked directly with Mother Teresa here and in the Main Calcutta mission. They are so loving but strict and have gone way out of their way to help me find a hotel and feed me. I have so much respect for the work they do on a daily basis. They live their lives in total service to others, just as their teacher did. I feel ashamed sometimes when I think about the things I complain about back home. We are so blessed to live where we do and have the things we have. No matter what we have been through, nothing compares to what I have seen so far here in India. These people live day to day not knowing sometimes where their next meal will come from. I feel blessed to be having this experience and know that I am growing tremendously from it. I hope I can remember all that is in my brain when I return home and that I don't fade back into taking life for granted. I will give lots of kisses and hugs again tomorrow. Send your prayers for these children. They need all they can get.

Love & Peace to all!
Lynne