Undergraduate
Eight students, two staff members spend three weeks in Kolkata, India, on Saint Michael's College service trip
The group raised $9,000 to give to three organizations
Contact Information:
Buff Lindau, Public Relations
802.654.2536
blindau@smcvt.edu
"An incredible onslaught of people, activity, rickshaws, food vendors, goats, cows, over-loaded buses - all mingling on the streets of the teeming city of Kolkata."
Such was the impression of the eight students and two staff members from Saint Michael's College, who spent three weeks, May 18 to June 8, doing volunteer work in Kolkata (AKA Calcutta), India.
For the seventh consecutive year, Saint Michael's MOVE (Mobilization of Volunteer Efforts) program has sent a group to Kolkata to work with the missionaries of Charity, New Life, New Hope, and the Sabera Foundation (seen in the documentary film, "Born into Brothels"). The group fund-raised to cover their expenses as well as for donations to take to the organizations with whom they work. They raised $9,000 to give to the three organizations, and they prepared by studying, dialoguing, see films and meeting weekly from December to May to get ready for the trip.
Trip participants included Julia Berberan, student leader; Annie Brabazon, staff leader; Kate Condon, Valerie Dillner, Hannah Duprat, Brittany Felgate, Professor Sue Kuntz; Nicole Marshall, Derek Souza, and Katie Wry.
Facing a city with upwards of 15 million inhabitants with conditions they had never before witnessed, each participant worked in one of three facilities: a home for women who have been abused and women with physical and cognitive impairments; an orphanage for children who are disabled and children who have been abandoned, or a home for men who are sick and/or elderly.
Julia Berberan wrote the following description on the trip blog about what she saw "all in one moment":
"We see rickshaw drivers pulling heavy loads, people carrying huge bundles on their heads, men riding bikes with bundles of chickens tied together by their feet hanging off the bike, people sweeping the streets and carting the garbage away. We hear the beeping of cars, busses and motorcycles, the scratchy voice of the call to prayer, ringing rickshaw bells, barking dogs, sizzling food being fried at sidewalk vendors, people laughing, people yelling, people saying "hello auntie" or "hello madame." We see people sleeping on the streets, children running around, people bathing, herds of goats trotting down the street, people sitting over hot stoves making chai tea, people smashing the little ceramic cups that the chai tea is served in, and geckos scurrying about. We see people selling garlands of flowers, cups of freshly pressed sugarcane juice, slabs of freshly slaughtered meat, postcards, sparkly bracelets, t-shirts, wallets, nail polish, and any doodad and knickknack you could think of."
About her work Julia said:
"I spent most of my days volunteering at Shanti Dan, a home for women who have been abused and women with physical and cognitive impairments, many of whom have been previously incarcerated. Walking into the complex was like walking into an oasis- passing through the gate we saw lush vegetation, beautiful trees full of jackfruit and giant limes, cows grazing, and fish jumping in the little pond. Inside the home, the women sat on the porch surrounding the pretty courtyard."
Valerie Dillner said on the blog of her work:
"I work in Kolighat, Mother Teresa's first home, built in 1952. It was started for the 'dying and destitute,' a place for people to be taken care of with dignity. It is a difficult place, one that truly breaks my heart. The women there are so frail, in such need of gentle care and a kind spirit. The women who are able to speak thank us, while some others put their palms together over their heads to say, Namaste: the divine in me greets the divine in you. I have come to believe in a beauty between women, a sort of spirituality that is unspoken but beautiful. There is something very powerful in the help of one woman to another, especially cross-generationally and cross-culturally. We may be extremely different, but we share a unique femininity."
An anonymous commentator wrote:
Kolkata is infamous for the slums and poverty, but the city has many hidden treasures, such as its temples, its spirituality, and its people. I'm glad we were able to take a day to view new parts of the city, because now I love Kolkata even more.
Derek Souza concluded his trip with this blog entry:
"I think everyone that sees Kolkata will be forever changed. There is a deep sadness that overcomes you, but at the same time a sense of joy and amazement. As I sit in the 105 degree weather I think it's hard yes, frustrating yes, but a place that you will forever love."
Saint Michael's College, founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, is identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nation's Best 368 Colleges. A liberal arts, residential, Catholic college, Saint Michael's is located just outside of Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top college towns and less than two hours from Montreal. As one of only 270 institutions nationwide with a prestigious Phi Beta Kappa chapter on campus, Saint Michael's has 2,000 full-time undergraduate students, some 500 graduate students and 200 international students. In recent years Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Guggenheim, Fulbright, National Science Foundation and other grants, and Saint Michael's professors have been named Vermont Professor of the Year in four of the last eight years. The college is currently listed as one of the nation's Best Liberal Arts Colleges in the 2009 U.S. News & World Report rankings.
Photo caption: Saint Michael's group in Kolkata, India, front row, left to right: Kate Condon, Katie Wry, Brittany Felgate, Hannah Duprat, Julia Berberan, Annie Brabazon; back row: left to right, Valerie Dillner, Brother Xavier Raj, Sue Kuntz, Nicole Marshall, and Derek Souza
Buff Lindau, Public Relations
802.654.2536
blindau@smcvt.edu
"An incredible onslaught of people, activity, rickshaws, food vendors, goats, cows, over-loaded buses - all mingling on the streets of the teeming city of Kolkata."Such was the impression of the eight students and two staff members from Saint Michael's College, who spent three weeks, May 18 to June 8, doing volunteer work in Kolkata (AKA Calcutta), India.
For the seventh consecutive year, Saint Michael's MOVE (Mobilization of Volunteer Efforts) program has sent a group to Kolkata to work with the missionaries of Charity, New Life, New Hope, and the Sabera Foundation (seen in the documentary film, "Born into Brothels"). The group fund-raised to cover their expenses as well as for donations to take to the organizations with whom they work. They raised $9,000 to give to the three organizations, and they prepared by studying, dialoguing, see films and meeting weekly from December to May to get ready for the trip.
Trip participants included Julia Berberan, student leader; Annie Brabazon, staff leader; Kate Condon, Valerie Dillner, Hannah Duprat, Brittany Felgate, Professor Sue Kuntz; Nicole Marshall, Derek Souza, and Katie Wry.
Facing a city with upwards of 15 million inhabitants with conditions they had never before witnessed, each participant worked in one of three facilities: a home for women who have been abused and women with physical and cognitive impairments; an orphanage for children who are disabled and children who have been abandoned, or a home for men who are sick and/or elderly.
Julia Berberan wrote the following description on the trip blog about what she saw "all in one moment":
"We see rickshaw drivers pulling heavy loads, people carrying huge bundles on their heads, men riding bikes with bundles of chickens tied together by their feet hanging off the bike, people sweeping the streets and carting the garbage away. We hear the beeping of cars, busses and motorcycles, the scratchy voice of the call to prayer, ringing rickshaw bells, barking dogs, sizzling food being fried at sidewalk vendors, people laughing, people yelling, people saying "hello auntie" or "hello madame." We see people sleeping on the streets, children running around, people bathing, herds of goats trotting down the street, people sitting over hot stoves making chai tea, people smashing the little ceramic cups that the chai tea is served in, and geckos scurrying about. We see people selling garlands of flowers, cups of freshly pressed sugarcane juice, slabs of freshly slaughtered meat, postcards, sparkly bracelets, t-shirts, wallets, nail polish, and any doodad and knickknack you could think of."
About her work Julia said:
"I spent most of my days volunteering at Shanti Dan, a home for women who have been abused and women with physical and cognitive impairments, many of whom have been previously incarcerated. Walking into the complex was like walking into an oasis- passing through the gate we saw lush vegetation, beautiful trees full of jackfruit and giant limes, cows grazing, and fish jumping in the little pond. Inside the home, the women sat on the porch surrounding the pretty courtyard."
Valerie Dillner said on the blog of her work:
"I work in Kolighat, Mother Teresa's first home, built in 1952. It was started for the 'dying and destitute,' a place for people to be taken care of with dignity. It is a difficult place, one that truly breaks my heart. The women there are so frail, in such need of gentle care and a kind spirit. The women who are able to speak thank us, while some others put their palms together over their heads to say, Namaste: the divine in me greets the divine in you. I have come to believe in a beauty between women, a sort of spirituality that is unspoken but beautiful. There is something very powerful in the help of one woman to another, especially cross-generationally and cross-culturally. We may be extremely different, but we share a unique femininity."
An anonymous commentator wrote:
Kolkata is infamous for the slums and poverty, but the city has many hidden treasures, such as its temples, its spirituality, and its people. I'm glad we were able to take a day to view new parts of the city, because now I love Kolkata even more.
Derek Souza concluded his trip with this blog entry:
"I think everyone that sees Kolkata will be forever changed. There is a deep sadness that overcomes you, but at the same time a sense of joy and amazement. As I sit in the 105 degree weather I think it's hard yes, frustrating yes, but a place that you will forever love."
Saint Michael's College, founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, is identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nation's Best 368 Colleges. A liberal arts, residential, Catholic college, Saint Michael's is located just outside of Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top college towns and less than two hours from Montreal. As one of only 270 institutions nationwide with a prestigious Phi Beta Kappa chapter on campus, Saint Michael's has 2,000 full-time undergraduate students, some 500 graduate students and 200 international students. In recent years Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Guggenheim, Fulbright, National Science Foundation and other grants, and Saint Michael's professors have been named Vermont Professor of the Year in four of the last eight years. The college is currently listed as one of the nation's Best Liberal Arts Colleges in the 2009 U.S. News & World Report rankings.
Photo caption: Saint Michael's group in Kolkata, India, front row, left to right: Kate Condon, Katie Wry, Brittany Felgate, Hannah Duprat, Julia Berberan, Annie Brabazon; back row: left to right, Valerie Dillner, Brother Xavier Raj, Sue Kuntz, Nicole Marshall, and Derek Souza
