Youth Space
Niamh O’Sullivan, Rosa Geoghegan and Sarah Lennon
Holy Child Killiney is a school in the Le Chéile Trust and has a tradition of undertaking an Immersion Project with Fifth Year students which has involved travelling to Kenya and Kolkata. The initiative echoes the Christian ethos of the Le Chéile Mission statement and continues the strong commitment we have in Holy Child to living Gospel values in a variety of justice and peace initiatives. Our programme is an active and creative educational process to increase students’ awareness and understanding of the world we live in. It is a process of interaction, reflection and action and it has been put together for the mutual benefit of the Holy Child students and the children in the Developing World.
Since 2011, 5th Year students have taken part in the Immersion Programmes in both Kenya and India. By being with the host communities and reflecting on that experience in the light of the Gospel message, students have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of their Christian faith, to grow in their own sense of God and to increase their commitment and capacity to work for real change in our world today.
Opportunity
In February this year 15 students and three staff members travelled to Kolkata, India to stay with the Edmund Rice Schools teaching in St George’s School in Bow Bazar. Here our students had the opportunity to teach simple concepts in maths, science and English along with some games, songs, dances, art and crafts to help the children express themselves and grow in confidence.
Our journey first began back in September 2016, when each student undertook to raise much needed funds for St George’s and the Mary Rice Centre, two free schools in the Edmund Rice network in which we would be teaching.
Weekly meetings were held where students gained an understanding of global development issues such as the causes of poverty, human rights, justice, development and environmental issues mainly focusing on our host country, India.
From the very first moment we stepped out of the airport into the heat and noisy traffic we knew we had embarked on a truly immersive experience. Although early on a Sunday morning, the streets were busy and the journey to St George’s was an extraordinary culture shock. Our senses were awakened by the new sights, smells and sounds of Kolkata.
The Brothers in Kolkata were incredibly hospitable and provided us with the most valuable insights into the lives of people we met. Kolkata at night could be a perilous place for children with extensive child trafficking, child labour and the sex trade.
This being the case we were very impressed by how the children presented themselves, eager to learn, always dressed in perfect uniform and were very polite and respectful addressing us either as “ma’am” or “sister”.
Bleary eyed
During our second week in Kolkata our work diversified. We woke bleary eyed and dazed at 4.30am to attend 6.00am Mass in the Mother House followed by volunteering in one of their missions. We were then designated our positions for the day, the Missionary orphanage and a home for women and girls with special needs.
This day proved to be one of the most difficult days, providing us with plenty of challenges. The group working in the orphanage were divided between the special needs children and the malnourished children. The girls were definitely kept on their toes, providing plenty of entertainment for the children, including an impromptu concert. They helped to feed, change and put the children to bed where they said their goodbyes and finished for the day.
The second group experienced a real taste of India when they travelled by tuc tuc (small three-wheeled van) to their location for the day. Further out of Kolkata city the home provides care for women and girls who suffer with mental health issues. The students spent the morning doing laundry and later caring for the women and girls who came from sometimes abusive families living on the street. It proved a very challenging day and St Teresa and her missionaries certainly provided us with some satisfying but very demanding experiences in India. We can now understand why St Teresa is in fact a saint.
Over the two weeks there were many challenging moments and we came to realise that no amount of individual effort could ever begin to address the massive problems in Kolkata.
However, we hope that the smiles our visits brought to the children may have eased their struggle even a little bit for a little while. We have been personally challenged to take a look at the way we are living our own lives.
The work of the Christian Brothers and so many agencies such as the Missionaries of Charity and HOPE will inspire us each day to take up that challenge. We hope to return in the future and are very grateful that we were given this opportunity, to help others, and to realise how truly blessed we are.
