A Brother, an Author, Mother Teresa and Udayan
Today we ventured out of the city to the west, to visit two other NGOs supported by the City of Joy Aid UK. But first, some background…
In the 1970s a young Swiss religious brother called Gaston came to Calcutta to work with the poor. He had originally wanted to work in Africa, after meeting many African nationals in the factories of France in the 1960s. Br Gaston had wanted to give his life to serving Jesus from the age of six years old, and at 35, after being denied training for the priesthood, he came to India. He was a contemporary and collaborator of pre-fame Mother Teresa working amongst the same communities, serving the poor, destitute and vulnerable.
The first NGO we visited was the Asha Bhavan Centre (ABC). The ABC was founded by Br Gaston with a young woman named Sukeshi. She was a young single mother and orphan when Br Gaston first came across her. Sukeshi founded the ABC as a home and school for physically and mentally disabled children. Many of the children they support have been abandoned, trafficked, abused or are vulnerable in some other way. ABC is now home to 150 girls and a day school for many more boys and girls with various needs.
Following a tour of the home and school we were treated to some dance performances and a delicious thali lunch which included a desert of cardamon-spiced rice pudding and mango chutney. After leaving the ABC, we headed out further into the countryside to meet Br Gaston. He now lives at the Interreligious Centre of Development (ICOD), an ashram that is home to around 50 vulnerable men and women. Realising that the urban poor in the city of Calcutta were lucky to have each other in their slums and colonies, he turned his attention to the rural communities. In these remote places the poor and vulnerable often suffered in isolation. ICOD is a peaceful community where people are offered sanctuary from their abuse, and supported in recovery from their trauma.
Despite his frail exterior, Br Gaston’s mind is still sharper than most of ours. He urged us to see the needs of those around us and be vessels of God’s love for all people.
In the 1980s Br Gaston met French author Dominique Lapierre who was visiting Calcutta. Br Gaston’s stories of the poor people of the city became the inspiration of Lapierre’s book The City of Joy. Br Gaston was the inspiration behind the lead characters of the book. The book later became a film starring Patrick Swayze. Lapierre wanted the proceeds of the book and film to go back into the service of the poor of Calcutta. At a meeting with Mother Teresa, she suggested that Lapierre give the money to Udayan that was struggling financially and about to close. Udayan was saved, the rest is history and here we are.
The traffic was awful on the way back. We ate dinner in the hotel and went straight to bed – inspired but tired.
