Men of Premdan in Kolkata, India

In April of 2026, I spent three weeks in Kolkata, India. My first priority of the trip was to visit the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity, known as the Mother House, and then do some volunteer work. However, when I stepped off the plane I was immediately struck by the hot, humid weather. I was stunned by how hot 100 degrees can be with high humidity. It was as if my body was in a constant sweat.

To help control my spending, I was able to stay at a Gadens Boerne apartment during my three weeks. After a day or two to adjust to the weather I went to the Mother House. It was on an early Sunday morning and I spent the first hour in the Mother Teresa museum. I was very curious about all of the Mother Teresa items and memories on display. I especially enjoyed looking at the simple things, like her clothing and her dining set (a plate and cup), and the historical pictures of her out in the streets helping the “poorest the of the poor.”

I then went into the sanctuary where the resting place of Mother Teresa is located. There were many residents and nuns in the large room gathered around her tomb. On her marble vault were many flowers, candles and the headstone which read, “Love One Another As I have Loved You” (John 15:12). On the walls around the tomb were several art pieces depicting dreams that Mother Teresa had during her life that inspired her to serve the poorest of the poor. Overall, I was very touched by the Spirit in the room and spent an hour or so simply relaxing and meditating on the many works of Mother Teresa and the sisters in the organization she founded, the Missionaries of Charity.

The following day I was assigned to work at a location known as Premdan. I travelled via Uber to the location. It was a large set of buildings that housed men and women, many of which were either in hospice, or who had mental or physical disabilities. The rooms where the residents stayed were large open air rooms with many rows of cots. There were more than 150 men in that one room. I was stunned by the sight.

I was led to an area and asked to take care of an elderly man who was sitting in a chair. He looked elegant in his clothing, but I could tell that he couldn’t use his arms or legs very well and that he couldn’t chew. He also didn’t speak any English, but that didn’t seem to deter us from communicating by other means. I spent time trimmings nails and then served him some very soft food, almost like oatmeal. He was very happy to have my company. I could tell he was a good man. Probably from a family that simply didn’t have the means to take care of him. Still, I wondered how he could live in the oppressive heat day after day and in an open air room with so many men (the women were in a different building with the same circumstances).

At Premdan there were only a few young adults volunteering. It was the wrong season for foreign visitors. Still we worked steadily throughout the day. Our next assignment was to serve the residents dinner. I was impressed how the sisters had things organized, which allowed us to make 150 plates of food and distribute them to the residents who waited under cover on picnic tables for the food. I enjoyed watching them eat and enjoy one another’s company. After the dinner volunteers went through and cleaned the tables and hosed down the cement where the water went into large drains.

One a week, or more, I went to the nearby Hyatt Hotel for lunch or dinner. I enjoyed the food and the place was beautiful inside with air conditioning! One afternoon while walking back to my apartment, which wasn’t air conditioned, I noticed an interesting looking man sitting on a traffic control box at an intersection. I stopped and we had a quick conversation. He looked really Hindu(ish) and I thought incredibly nice to be around.

Youth from the slums attending cooking vocational school at Gadens Boerne.

During my stay and service in the city I enjoyed going to boarding schools and seeing the slum children breaking free from the cycle of poverty by attending the schools. I particularly enjoyed the schools from Gadens Boerne, the Missionaries of the Word boarding school and taking a tour of Parivaar, which was the largest and most comprehensive of the boarding schools—housing some 2,000 students.

As I left Kolkata, I resolved to once again return…but in the winter months. I would like to spend more time volunteering with the Missionaries of Charity. And, thought that perhaps I could work towards helping the boarding schools either expand or build new campuses, as there are more than 1 million elementary aged school children not attending school due to poverty.

Before flying home I especially enjoyed touring the Memorial of Queen Elizabeth and also the Catholic Cathedral right across the street. These two buildings were built during the colonial era of the early to mid 1800’s when the British Empire ruled India and Kolkata was a key trade and government center. Amazingly beautiful buildings from this era.