May 7, 2008
A Journey of Understanding (India)
But the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish.
Psalms 9:18
Friends,
We continued our journey from Thailand to India beginning in Calcutta, or as it is now known “Kolkata.” Kolkata is the original Bengala way to pronounce this city of approximately 16-17 million people. We have just begun an exhausting two-week trip. I’ve been to India twice before, but never to Kolkata. I was very interested to see this city that I’ve heard about but, I was also weary to endure the poverty and filth that I had heard so much about. I’ve never heard anyone feel ho hum about India. It’s always “in your face,” an assault on your senses, a land of extremes not for the weak of heart.
When we landed in Kolkata we were greeted by David Hudson, PC(USA)’s regional liaison to South Asia. When I saw the incredible filth, poverty, and the teeming masses of people it was actually worse than I had anticipated. We spent two days in Kolkata, and I was already exhausted, so I wondered how I was ever going to make it two more weeks. The horrendous pollution and the unbelievably congested traffic added to the exhaustion (and I thought Los Angeles and Bangkok were bad!)
Arunima HIV/AIDS Hospice, an oasis in the tumult of Kolkata. Of the places we visited in Kolkata, I felt our visit to “Arunima HIV/AIDS Hospice” was the highlight. The hospice was an oasis in the tumult of the city. There was a sense of peace, love, and caring that pervaded their small plot of land. A small building located at the edge of a pond housed patients who were separated into different dorm-style rooms: men in one room, women in another, and mothers with children in still another. I felt very awkward taking pictures, but people made me at ease by being so open and friendly. I don’t know how I would have felt if some foreigner came poking a camera in my face to take a picture of me if I had AIDS.
This baby's mother died shortly after his birth. The father died of HIV/AIDS a couple months before. The baby won’t be tested for HIV for another four months since testing doesn’t start until they are 6 months old. I took a picture of a baby about 2 months old lying in his crib. I learned that the baby is an orphan, his mother died shortly after childbirth and the father died of HIV/AIDS a couple months before. I just kept looking at this poor baby and felt my heart break. What a way to start out in life. The baby won’t be tested for HIV for another four months since testing doesn’t start until they are 6 months old. I can’t help but wonder what God has in store for him? I was consoled by the fact that at least the baby is being well taken care of while he is at “Arunima Hospice.” There is a gentleness and love that the staff is able to weave through all the difficult situations that the patients have to deal with. People in India, as in Thailand, have to endure the stigma of having HIV/AIDS. They are often ostracized from their community and feel abandoned by their families and have no support network. Fortunately, some have oases like “Arunima HIV/AIDS Hospice,” a place where people infected with HIV/AIDS can feel human and have the dignity that they don’t receive from their own community.
People in Kolkata living under highway overpasses. Kolkata is a very poor, overcrowded, and dirty city. Initially, I saw only the congestion, poverty, and filth. Now I am able to see through the ugliness and see the true beauty of this city, which is its people and God’s love shining through His people.
Blessings,
Brett Faucett
The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 92 |
