WHAT’S IT LIKE TO VOLUNTEER? Read the quotes from some of our 2008/9 volunteers:
“My 3 months in Kolkata was a wonderful experience both professionally and personally. I was confused and exhilarated by the contrasts and contradictions of life there and how it’s endlessly fascinating although not always in a positive way. Life there is often chaotic, confusing and squalid but there is also great friendliness, vitality, culture and sophistication and generally things do work!”
“For me, working for Calcutta Rescue was entering a different world. The world I came from in suburban New Jersey and the world of Kolkata's street and slum populations are disparate places. Calcutta Rescue’s world gives volunteers, like me, an unimaginable amount of food for thought - some uplifting, some extremely degrading, but definitely something new and exotic. My three months in Kolkata remind me of the conditions that our fellow humanity continues to live in and that, as a medical professional, I am in a unique position to help people in need. Calcutta Rescue is an amazing organization, and the things it does for the poor people of Kolkata are often simple but so badly needed. I am in awe of the work that CR has done over the past decades and I am extremely happy I got involved with this organization.”
‘Obwohl ich bereits zum dritten Mal nach Kolkata reiste, war es fuer mich wieder ein Eintauchen in eine andere Welt, als ich letzten November aus dem Flugzeug stieg. Die Arbeit im Behindertenprojekt war bereichernd und belastend zugleich. Die Patienten dort sind mehrheitlich Kinder, welche wegen der geringen staatlichen Unterstützung kaum Chancen auf angemessene Bildung und Therapie haben. Die Arbeit des Projektes empfinde ich deshalb als sehr wertvoll. 3 Monate als Volontaerin waren jedoch eine sehr kurze Zeit um wirklich etwas bewirken zu wollen. Ich habe die Arbeit fuer Calcutta Rescue und das Leben in dieser quirrligen Stadt trotz vielen Hochs und Tiefs als eine riesige Bereicherung empfunden.’
My experience with Calcutta Rescue has so far been all I could have imagined and more. As infectious disease nurse, I work closely with TB patients, help with the vaccination program and treat wounds with the street medicine team. The added position of clinical coordinator enables me to liaise between the volunteers and the clinics, and ensures the volunteers’ skills are being utilized to their greatest potential. To be able to use my skills as a nurse to help the poorest and most needy people of Kolkata has been an honour and an experience I will honestly never forget.
"Kolkata and Calcutta Rescue...I really don't know what to say. I love it and hate it. Definitely the work here is very fulfilling and satisfying but also can be frustrating, chaotic and annoying. Kolkata brings out the best and the worst in you, it can be hell on earth or City of Joy. Everyday I'm learning new things about people, traditions and about myself. It's a wonderful journey ... take it as it comes - hot, spicy, loud and unpredictable. Enjoy it, it's worth it"
“I am from Kolkata and Calcutta Rescue has given me a great opportunity
to give back – I am teaching intermediate English to about 20 disadvantaged students, whose formal schooling and other expenses are already being taken care of by CR. It has been a very touching experience for me - the student’s sheer thirst for knowledge inspires me but also scares me. What if our society fails to help them? Their dreams would die and yet another generation of cynics would be produced. My CR work also forces me to be introspective because I see overseas volunteers working selflessly for the poor in my city, while many of my more privileged and educated Indian friends still remain aloof. But the best way to change such attitudes is to keep ploughing on. Whenever I have a few selfish or cynical pangs, I just look at my students and fellow volunteers - and my idealism is replenished.”
“Voila maintenant 6 mois que je me construit une vie dans cette etrange ville de Kolkata, au milieu du bruit, de la pollution, de la salete, des odeurs, de la misere et des maladies, mais au dela de ces clichés et du rythme effrene, j'y ai trouve bien plus que ce que je pouvais esperer. J'ai vecu un nombre incroyable de moments tres durs et epuisants, ou j'ai du me battre avec moi-meme pour ne pas renoncer mais a chaque fois, grace a tous ceux qui m'entourent et a ces merveilleux sourires, j'ai pu reprendre espoir et continuer.
C'est cette opposition du pire et du meilleur qui me fait prendre conscience que cette experience est d'une incroyable richesse ou l'on donne un peu et ou l'on recoit beaucoup!”
'As an extremely reluctant CR recruited volunteer, I had no idea what to expect but I have found the experience of working here in Kolkata the most enriching of my entire working life. The spirit that pervades all we do at Calcutta Rescue is palpable and, despite the devastating poverty and sadness one sees on a daily basis, I can only focus on the joy that I witness at every turn. And no other NGO has warmer, more welcoming volunteers.’
’Ik heb een tijdje mogen werken als verpleegkundige binnen Calcutta Rescue.
Het was voor mij een hele bijzondere en mooie ervaring die ik absoluut niet had willen missen!!
Want wat is er mooier om samen met indiers te werken aan een betere gezondheidszorg in hun eigen land.
Ik heb de kans gekregen mijn kennis over te dragen zodat zij er verder mee kunnen.
“Two thirds of my nine month term as CR Volunteer Pharmacist has now elapsed and I am absolutely certain it was the right decision to quit my German public pharmacy job. Working in India is so different from Europe – working in a tiny pharmacy room, always concerned with cost and low budgets, dealing with Indian wholesalers and suppliers, being in close contact with the CR Clinic doctors … all these things are a world away from my life in Cologne.”
