Today started with an 5am wakeup call, not in preparation for our return to Udayan, but to join the Missionaries of Charity for mass at the Motherhouse – the headquarters for Mother Teresa’s sisters. Deacon Liam was able to celebrate mass alongside Fr Peter a Jesuit priest from Kolkata. After mass, we spoke with some of the other volunteers who were keen to learn of what had brought us to Kolkata and they shared what their service to the poorest of the poor entailed. We also visited a small museum about Mother Teresa’s life and saw her room before spending some time in the presence of her tomb.

After mass we went back to the hotel to pack up our bags before saying goodbye to the hotel luxuries we have enjoyed the past few days ahead of our return to Udayan. We have all enjoyed our time in the city and The Elgin Fairlawn Hotel but there is no place like home – Udayan, and the whole group were starting to miss the children. Everyone went out for one last explore of the City of Joy (Kolkata) taking in the street stalls, supermarket, Kolkata’s Starbucks but sadly no one got a second visit to the beautiful indoor market due to puja. We just had enough time to squeeze in a lovely hotel lunch ahead of Basir and Ganesh arriving to pick us up to drive us back.