Calcutta is a busy dirty town. It's the only city in the world where man-powered rickshaws are still in use. We thought it was horribly degrading so we never used one during our stay. Our purpose for visiting was to help Project Rescue. Before we left on the trip, we had heard about the organisation and how it helps women trapped in prostitution get out of the industry.
We only were able to connect with our contact person in Calcutta a few days before we arrived. Joni had been in a motorcycle incident requiring a hospital stay in Delhi and only two weeks before had come back to her home to recover.
The night of our arrival we hired a taxi to take us downtown (we shared it with two Israeli girls ) and found inexpensive but clean (with AC) lodging.
The next morning we called Joni. "I'll have my driver pick you up in 30 minutes" she said exuberantly. So began our tour of Project Rescue. A big Toyota "tropical blue" SUV pulled up next to the cafe where we were waiting. The driver and Joni's secretary were in it.
Our first stop was to pick up Joni who lived a bit outside of town where she had moved following asthma-like symptoms because of the high pollution levels within the city. Once in the car she started explaining more deeply about the organisation and her role in it.
Project Rescue was started several years ago by an Indian women who was concerned about the condition of prostitutes in the city. She wanted to do something to help, so through walks through the districts she began building relationships with the women and would pray with them. Eight years ago, Joni started working with the organization to facilitate networking with resources. Her main job now is looking over the children's home--our first stop.
19 friendly and cute girls came to greet us on the top floor of a three story apartment complex. The children's home acts as foster care for girls who's mothers are in the industry. The ladies want their daughters to have a future outside of the district and permit the children to live at the home. Many daughters of prostitutes fall into the same line of work as their mothers, and once in it's very hard to get out. So the children's home is there to provide a safe place outside of the district for the kids to grow and go to school and heal. Without exception, they come from abusive backgrounds. The same girls who ran up to us to give us welcome hugs with big smiles when they first arrived would have been hiding in the corner ashamed of their lives.
The girls all sang for us including dances and hand motions--most of which they had learned in VBS and Sunday School. I taught them how to sing "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." Then they taught us how to sing it in Bangal the language the kids all spoke.
Before we had to leave, they played games with us. Many were excited about meeting new people and many hugged us goodbye.
(for security reasons we couldn't take pictures.)
Our next stop was lunch at Grain of Salt, Joni's favorite restaurant. Amanda and I chuckled inside at how the Americans we visit like to take their visitors to such nice restaurants. Lunch was buffet style of Indian and continental food and it was wonderful. This was our first introduction to crispy baby corn which has become our new favorite dish. It's baby corn cooked like General Tzo's chicken. Very tasty. We also enjoyed the numerous sweets and safe home-made ice cream.
After lunch we visited
Bubbly at the Vocational Training Center. Walking distance from the main red-light district in a rented room from an Anglican church, women in the industry have the opportunity to learn a trade when they are not working. By the time we got there (by design) the ladies had departed for their evening work, but we were able to meet young ladies who are not in the industry, but are labeled high risk. They live in the district and will likely turn to prostitution for work. They were at the center making Christmas Cards which the organization sells. These girls are then paid for their time. It's a way of keeping them occupied and in a good environment.
The ladies who come are taught tailoring and are also offered a stipend. Keep in your prayers one lady who has been coming who is a "mother" at a brothel. She has a lot of clout in her area, and if her life is changed, it could mean many more women being rescued.
While at the center Bubbly told us stories of women who have gone through the program and who are now actively helping other women to escape the industry.
That evening Amanda and I explored New Market a seemingly endless building of shops selling everything from cloth to jewelry to freshly butchered meat to vegetables and fruits. We then wandered our way through fields of soccer and cricket players and found the river Hoogly. Then we went back to Park Street for food (escaping the pouring rain).
The next morning we visited the Indian Museum a large collection of natural and Indian history artifacts including the bones of a giant Armadillo type extinct animal. We then went to see the Marble Palace a private mansion filled with collected western paintings and statues. If we had gotten the correct permissions it would have been free. But for a little tip... 600 rps later we emerged from the dusty and dark but interesting building.
We then visited the Mother House, burial place of Mother Teresa. The Sisters of Mercy were taking mass when we arrived and we sat in. Listening to their sung responses was a highlight. They have made a little room a Museum of sorts with quotes and her belongings and blood on display. On posters it told of her life.
At 5 pm the blue SUV picked us up again after a long conversation with a pseudo beggar women about how we should buy her child milk and how she wasn't a beggar. Joni took is to Evening Care Center (ECC) three rooms in a government community office on the edge of one of the main districts. From 5-8 every day Children from the community are invited to come and receive tutoring and help in school. The first year they had it, the children's pass rate in school increased from 30% to 90%. The time is significant because it is the busiest time of day in the district (men go by after work before going home). When school is in session 80 kids from all grades will pack into the small building to learn.
We were there for a few minutes. I introduced myself and Amanda and told them that I was very glad to meet me. They asked me through the interpreter why I came to see them. This question stumped me. The honest answer did not seem fitting, so I told them I had heard they were the nicest kids in Calcutta. I would later regret it, thinking of other things that were more true and believable.
On the way back from the ECC, I asked Joni how we could help them. "Pray," she said. It was amazing to me how she had devoted all that time to showing us around so that we could pray for them. I realize how big a need that is. They have had tremendous favor with the government, a secular but largely anti-christian government. They also have had a lot of favor in the community. Some owners in the industry are encouraging the ladies to send their kids to ECC or get extra training themselves.
One major request they had was for a building of their own within the district that they could run the ECC and vocational training. There is a building that was built two years ago that would be perfect. It's been vacant because the community has ruled that it cannot become a brothel, and no one else wants it. Pray for a building, that one or another one so that the outreach can increase. Also pray for Indian workers. Foreigner "whites" are suspect of having an agenda. Indian nationals have a lot more freedom to work with the people with-out red-flags. They especially need a solid child-psychologist to work with the children. Pray for that brothel mother who has been coming to vocational training, and pray for all the women with which the workers are in contact.
not stretch out). Another benefit was the personal audio/video system was working better than on the trip there. So despite the discomfort, we had several options of entertainment. Ben would periodically bug the flight staff for more yogurt.
