Our last night in India, and so we come to the final post.rnrnThis morning, a few of us got up for 6:00 Mass at the mother house, and then went on to Nirmal Hiraday, the Home for the Dying. Although at times it was trying and uncomfortable, the sense of satisfaction at the end of our shift made it worthwhile.rnrnExcept for a bit of last minute shopping, today has mostly been spent packing largely inflated suitcases and preparing for the 24 hour (!) marathon that is our journey back to England. We leave you with a few last photos from throughout the trip.rnrnCowrnrnMonkeysrnrnWashing machine posterrnrnWe also have a short story for you.rnrnOne day, an Englishman was in India, and approached an Indian man cutting the grass. The Englishman had got a bit lost, and so asked, “What is the name of this town?”. Now, the Indian man didn’t speak very good English, and assumed that he had been asked “When was the last time you cut the grass?”. He answered “Kol cutta”, meaning “I cut the grass yesterday”, and this is how Calcutta got its name!rnrnThank you very much for sharing our journey, and make sure you check back to see all of the photos from our amazing adventure!rnrnMy India is Great!

We had a great dinner last night, not with Steve Waugh but with Tony Fehon, a business man from Australia who was at Udayan with Steve. The night was fantastic, but we were all suffering a bit this morning as we came down for breakfast.rnrnToday we went with Dr Kamruddin to see Pilkhana, the slum on the outskirts of Kolkata that is featured in ‘City of Joy’. Due to the success of the book and the film, the government has been forced into action and so conditions now are better than previously, but we were all still shocked by the squaller that people lived in. The open drains were particularly disgusting and created an awful stench.rnrnPilkhanarnrnOnce in Pilkhana, we went to the headquaters of the United Brothers’ Assosiation, situated in the heart of the slum. The United Brothers’ Assosiation is funded partly from the royalties of ‘City of Joy’ and was founded in 1982 by social workers in an effort to help the downtrodden in Pilkhana. There, young ladies were taught sewing which enables them to bring in an income for their families.rnrnSewingrnrnShopping for clothesrnrnNext, we saw see Koshis, a home for handicapped children, also run by United Brothers’ Assosiation. Gaston Dayanand who is the hero of ‘City of Joy’ was instumental in setting this home up. Here they are provided with an education and trained in a skill so that they can make a living. There are currently 42 children living in the home.rnrnGroup photornrnSaying good-byernrnAfter Koshis, we visited Mariam Kinara, a recently opened home that takes care of handicapped women. This is situated on the outskirts of Kolkata, and saves the women from prison, where they would otherwise be put by the government. As yesterday, we were welcomed with open arms.rnrnTonight, we are all having dinner with James Stevens and his wife Lalitta.

We got up early (5:00!) this morning to attend 6 o’clock Mass at the mother house, just a few minutes from our hotel. All of the Sisters were at the Mass, as well as volunteers who would be doing the morning shift at any of the homes run by the Missionaries of Charity. Some of us will also be attending this Mass on Tuesday when we work at Nirmal Hiraday.rnrnAfter taking breakfast at the hotel, we went on to Asha Niketan, which takes care of mentally handicapped people. There we took part in a puja, a Hindu festival which is dedicated to Sariswati, the goddess of wisdom and knowledge.rnrnThe alter dedicated to SariswatirnrnAsha Niketan is run by L’Arche, an organisation originally started by Jean Vanier in a rural village in France. Since then it has spread to 119 communities in 30 countries around the world. The community in Kolkata was started in 1973 and at present takes care of 47 mentally handicapped people.rnrnChris at Asha NiketanrnrnPlaying the drumsrnrnThe meditation room in Asha Niketan is unique as it tries to show that God expresses himself in many forms, and that the aim of all religions is to go beyond the form. It does this by displaying seven different holy books that are rotated daily, thus constantly changing the focus religion and awarding none a superior or inferior status.rnrnWhilst there is a lot of theological debate about God, members of the house feel that all these discussions are not relevant when looking at a handicapped child. The unique gift of the so-called mentally retarded person is that they urge us to join in the love of God, whatever our religion.rnrnThe meditation roomrnrnWe are now off to prepare for dinner with Steve Waugh. Mixing with the stars again!rnrnSmiling Person

Having been promised a late start this morning, we stayed up late last night drinking (only kidding!), but it turned out that our route to Udayan was barred by an illegal Communist rally, and so we had to get up early anyway! The things that happen in India!rnrnAfter taking a long way round to get to Udayan, we arrived just in time for lunch, before preparing for the arrival of Steve Waugh, former Australian cricket captain. He has been supporting Udayan for a number of years, and regularly visits the home to meet James Stevens and the children. As cricket is such a big sport in India, Steve Waugh is very famous and he is clearly regarded as an idol in the eyes of the children, with many of them gaping in awe.rnrnSteve Waugh and James StevensrnrnAfter his arrival he was ushered onto the playing field where the children took turns to bowl at him while he showed off his batting skills. He then watched an entertainment show put on by the children, and gave out some certificates that the they had achieved for music and their artistic work. We had brought some teddy bears made by a charity in England that we gave out; the children were delighted to receive them!rnrnChildren of UdayanrnrnJames and the children of UdayanrnrnAs this was the last time we are visiting the home, we ended with a few tearful good-byes. Everyone was surprised with how affectionate the children were, us having only been with them for a total of 4 days. Many addresses were swapped and endless promises made to return in the future, with hopefully some of them fulfilled.rnrnBoy up a treernrnWe (the 8 students) have been invited to dinner with Steve Waugh tomorrow night at the Oberoi Grand!rn

This morning we were visited by Gaston Dayanand who was the inspiration for the hero of ‘City of Joy’, the book written by Dominique Lapierre and translated by Kathryn Spink. The movie starred Patrick Swayze and is set in the slum in Kolkata that we are going to visit on Monday. Gaston was here for the editing of his book which tells of his experiences since arriving in India over 30 years ago. He gave us some insight into his thoughts about the nature of developement and what he is trying to achieve in Kolkata and its neighbouring villages.rnrnGaston DayanandrnrnGaston was incredibly passionate about his views that all religions should be treated with respect, and that organisations of all creeds should work together for the relief of the poor. Real developement only comes about when social workers take into account the opinions and culture of the poor by working alongside them and not imposing external views or solutions.rnrnGaston DayanandrnrnA good lunch was had by all before we went to see Nirmal Hriday, Mother Teresa’s Home for the Dying. The home cares for people who would otherwise be dying on the street, or in railway stations. There are two wards in the home, for men and women, and the purpose of the home and its underlying spirit is to help those who are destined to die to experience the warmth of the human touch. They have not yet turned anyone away, 81 thousand people having passed through their hands since it was opened by Mother in 1952. Contrary to misconception all peoples are prepared for death according to the rituals of their particular belief. Muslims are given readings from the Koran, Hindus are given Ganges water on their lips, while Christians receive the Last Rites. We found the home shocking, but also had a great compassion for those who lay so desperately ill. In response, some of us have volunteered to work a shift at the home to help the Sisters who run it.rnrnNirmal Hriday men's wardrnrnThe group with Andy

Although the children at Udayan wake at 5:00 am, it was 6:30 before they found where we were sleeping and woke us up with cries of ‘Good morning!’. We had breakfast, and then played with the children before finishing setting up the computers.rnrnDodds and some Udayan boysrnrnShortly after breakfast, Mrs Weldon arrived, and we set off with 4 of the children to a leper colony on the outskirts of Kolkata. The children were going to see their parents – around 25 children come from the same leper colony that we visited. All of the people living in the colony have all been cured of leprosy through the use of modern medicines. However the scars of the disease still remain; many have lost the use of their fingers and even hands in more severe cases. All of the parents received us with warmth, and were happy to invite us into their small houses, obviously proud of their children and their home.rnrnThe leper colonyrnrnMrs Weldon at the leper colonyrnrnOn returning to Udayan, the children had recreational time, and so we joined in with a game of cricket and football, although they were vastly better at cricket than us. They were fascinated with us playing cards, having never seen any English cards before. The children had been shy yesterday, but today they were bubbling with confidence and had great amusement at our attempts to sing the Indian songs they tried to teach us.rnrnIn the evening, James Stevens arrived with his wife and brother, and the children of Udayan put on some entertainment. We had also taken time to prepare some acts, with Jenny coordinating some gymnastics, Natalie and Sinead singing and us all taking part in a balancing pyramid. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and went straight to bed, all exhausted from our two days at Udayan.rnrnUdayan boys performing gymnasticsrnrnWe apologise for the lack of pictures yesterday: we had some technical problems at Udayan.

Although the children at Udayan wake at 5:00 am, it was 6:30 before they found where we were sleeping and woke us up with cries of ‘Good morning!’. We had breakfast, and then played with the children before finishing setting up the computers.rnrnDodds and some Udayan boysrnrnShortly after breakfast, Mrs Weldon arrived, and we set off with 4 of the children to a leper colony on the outskirts of Kolkata. The children were going to see their parents – around 25 children come from the same leper colony that we visited. All of the people living in the colony have been cured of leprosy through the use of modern medicines. However the scars of the disease still remain; many have lost the use of their fingers and even hands in more severe cases. All of the parents received us with warmth, and were happy to invite us into their small houses, obviously proud of their children and their home.rnrnThe leper colonyrnrnMrs Weldon at the leper colonyrnrnOn returning to Udayan, the children had recreational time, and so we joined in with a game of cricket and football, although they were vastly better at cricket than us. They were fascinated with us playing cards, having never seen any English cards before. The children had been shy yesterday, but today they were bubbling with confidence and had great amusement at our attempts to sing the Indian songs they tried to teach us.rnrnIn the evening, James Stevens arrived with his wife and brother, and the children of Udayan put on some entertainment. We had also taken time to prepare some acts, with Jenny coordinating some gymnastics, Natalie and Sinead singing and us all taking part in a balancing pyramid. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and went straight to bed, all exhausted from our two days at Udayan.rnrnUdayan boys performing gymnasticsrnrnWe apologise for the lack of pictures yesterday: we had some technical problems at Udayan.

We write to you this evening from a computer at Udayan.rnrnThis morning we got up early to go to Mass and to receive the Ashes from Rev. James Stevens, the founder of Udayan. As well as running Udayan, he is also a parish priest at a church in the heart of Kolkata, just a few minutes walk from our hotel.rnrnAfter having breakfast and packing our overnight bag, we set off for Udayan and arrived just after 12:00. The computers and train set awaited so we set off to work, the girls repairing and dusting the model railway and the boys putting together the machines that have been donated by St Joan of Arc.rnrnSetting up the computersrnrnThe train setrnrnWe ate a lovely lunch cooked by the chef at Udayan, and then finished off the jobs before going out and playing football with the older boys who had returned from High School. When the children had to go and do their evening study, we took time to prepare the performance we are putting on tomorrow, which at the moment consists of singing, dancing and even some gymnastics!rnrnTom directing the computersrnrnJenny

After eating a substantial breakfast at the hotel, we set off for Udayan. It took just over an hour to travel through the mayhem of Kolkata, with the anticipation of our arrival building throughout the journey. We were not disappointed when we pulled into the welcoming gates and were greeted warmly by some of the older girls with garlands of flowers.rnrnSinead serving lunchrnrnArrival at UdayanrnrnJames Stevens took us on a tour of Udayan and we were immediately struck by its beauty. We were shown the dormitories as well as the library and other rooms that are used by the children for sewing and embroidery. The girls had created some beautiful handkerchiefs that were on sale.rnrnUdayanrnrnLunch was served with the children in the main dining hall, after which we had a chance to walk over the nearly completed medical unit. It was particulary interesting to see this building as most of our money has gone towards its construction. One of the fastinating features of it is a bamboo scaffolding that is used by Indian builders. We half expected a panda to appear around the corner!rnrnThe children had prepared a short show for us which included some older girls dancing and boys showing their flexiblilty at yoga. Musically, we were entertained by two solo violinists. The final act was a very energetic dance performed by seven enthusiastic little boys!rnrnGirls dancingrnrnWe are spending Wednesday and Thursday at Udayan helping to set up the computers that St Joan’s have donated and a train set that has also been given to the children.rnrnJames Stevens giving assembly

We arrived in Kolkata this morning after an eventful train ride from Varanasi. Although we were warned that the journey could take significantly longer than timetabled, we rolled into Kolkata only about an hour late. The train wasn’t too uncomfortable and we all got some sleep, once we had braved the trip to the toilet (an adventure in itself) and fought off the mice that were running about in the carriage!rnrnA yellow taxirnrnArriving at the Fairlawn Hotel by taxi we were delighted by the reception we received and the lovely lobby area which was filled with green plants and colourful flowers.rnrnThe FairlawnrnrnWe had lunch shortly after arrival and then had time to sort out our new rooms and catch up on the sleep we lost last night in preparation for our time in Kolkata and at Udayan which is sure to be action packed!rnrnAfter our siesta we were served a delightful English tea with jam tarts out in the garden and the owner, Mrs Violet Smith, introduced us to a fun game which the dining room staff enjoyed helping us master. The motto of this hotel is Indira Ghandi’s words, “Tourists arrive as guests and leave as friends” and already we can see how these words are lived.rnrnBefore dinner, we had the pleasure meeting again the founder of Udayan, James Stevens and his wife Lalitta who called in to welcome us. They have invited us over to Udayan to meet the children tomorrow. We eagerly await our first glimpse of the home.rnrnJames StevensrnrnThank you to all those who have commented on the website so far. We do read your comments, and so on request, here is the man who takes the pictures (although he is still trying to hide behind his camera!)rnrnJames Dodds