'Come and See' Jn 1:48

The motivation for going to India is to inspire each student to live the message of the Gospel in new ways, as well as opening their eyes to the level of poverty and illness that exists, not just in India but in the world today.  One student summed up in a few simple words the feelings of all who travelled in June, ‘the greatest gift we have is the gift of loving, it is only in coming here that we can begin to use it’

Coordinator: Mark O Hagan

Today we meet a lot the ‘I’ generation where people believe happiness can be brought at a price.  As a priest arriving to Dundalk I made the conscious decision that India was a project I wanted to do with the young of its town, by getting them to ask the WHY question to life, by taking them out of what has been described as materialistic Ireland and placing them into a new culture and religion, where they may begin for themselves to ask questions about life, their religion, God and their relationship with him.

I feel it is in gaining the freedom to love unconditionally that an inner peace comes.  Our group of youth have been motivated by Matthew 25:35-41). Christ has identified Himself with whole human race being becoming a human being. (Christ has identified Himself with the whole human race through becoming a human being?)  Christ makes His own the suffering of everyone.

So what we do to the least of our brothers and sisters, we are doing to Christ.  When our youth go out to India we do so with Christ as our centre.  I suppose the challenge for me and the youth is putting this into practice.

Student's Experience

From the very minute I heard about the Calcutta trip I knew I wanted to go.  Opportunities like it don’t come very often and it would be a sin not to give it a go and try my best to do my little bit at making a difference.

I didn’t stress myself with imaginings at the start when I found out I was going because I had no idea what to expect, I really didn’t.  So I decided to just go with it, not worry and see what happened.  I think this was quite a good way to go about it.  No one can be prepared for the first trip to India.  Absolutely nobody can be totally prepared for those first few hours in the country when all the elements of Calcutta are unleashed on you.  You feel the dead heat: you smell all things unpleasant; you can taste the pollution in the air; you hear the sound of the traffic and its non stop beeping of horns and most of all, you can see the utter poverty of the country.

It’s a very overwhelming thing to arrive in not just a foreign country but also a completely different world with people you haven’t known very long.  Very scary!

The meetings really helped.  They gave us an idea of what to expect and one of the valuable things we gained out of the meetings in my opinion was getting to know each other.  At least we weren’t complete strangers going into a different world together.  The trip to Lough Derg was also great.  It gave us a chance to step out of our normal lives for a day and just slow down, think about things and pray.  I was not unlike going to India.  The world seemed to stop dead around us and we were just us, a little group, preparing for a big journey.  People bonded a lot that day I felt, because it was the first time we’d all been together properly for more than an hour or two and we were away from home….on an island so there were no distractions!

We were warned about the heat many many times beforehand but it was still a shock to finally feel the dead humidity hit you.  I remember the first day quite vividly.  Everyone’s excitement had died down somewhat because of exhaustion and the very long journey!  The first journey into the city was the most unreal journey of my life, it was just so completely and utterly different from anything I’d ever known.

Getting used to the country was very hard.  There was always something happening around you and when you’re grumpy and tired and still scared of your surroundings the last thing you want is to have the noise of Calcutta’s traffic in your ears.  But it doesn’t stop, ever, the noise continues on at all time without relenting.  When you’re out it’s like you have to be alert at all times, and there’s no doubt about it, your surroundings make sure you are.  Between avoiding taxis rickshaws, buses, cars, people, trams and even cows, it’s a bit scary.  But I got used to it and I absolutely loved this mad new world.

I was a bit nervous about starting work at first but I needn’t have worried.  I loved it.  The kids were amazing.  They were so adorable and they made me never want to leave, to stay there forever and take care of them.  The day I had to leave them I was on the verge of tears but I’m hoping that they will all find loving families soon because they deserve it so much.

Mass every morning was lovely.  The sisters have such an inner peace and tranquillity and it seems to shine out of them.  I felt honoured to be there with these women, women who gave up their entire lives for God and the people of Calcutta.  My respect for them is immense.  Mother Teresa started off with one person and look how many people she and the sisters helped to date.  It shows that anyone with determination and who has their heart in the right place can make a difference.  It will start small but it can grow to be something huge.

I know I will be back to the City of Hope.  Back to the noise, the smells, the poverty, the heat, the pollution, but it’s the people who make it all worth it.  There are people who have hardly nothing but have this amazing spirit, which I can never forget.   It was the trip of a lifetime and hopefully there will be to come.   Daria Ni Fhaolain.

There are no real words to describe the experience I had in Calcutta.  The culture and extremes between rich and poor are just too intense.  Nothing is the same as Ireland, the streets, houses, food, even Church is different.

Initially I did not think it would be as dirty as it was.  The smells of the street were vile and the sight of a begging family at every street corner was very sad.

Walking out of the airport for the first time was an experience, as I felt and smelt the pollution in the air.  It’s a very dirty country but I found the Indian people themselves a very optimistic crowd.  Most of them never seen white skin before and were amazed by us.  I found them all easygoing and I never sensed hostility in them.

I was amazed at their culture.  Three weeks surely is not enough to get used to their way of life, and to see how they live.

I like working in the orphanage and helping out the sisters of Charity.  It was a sad sight but it taught me to be grateful for everything I have.

The three weeks I spent in Calcutta were indescribable, incredible; there’s no words to describe the feeling you get, seeing the culture and poverty of India today.  Overall it was the best and worst three weeks of my life.  Darren Taaffe

No one can be truly prepared for Calcutta no matter how much advice is received; it’s an assault on the senses.  However, the one bit of advice I would give to future volunteers, to either India or Africa, would be “Do what you can with what you have, where you are” (Mother Teresa).