The first India team, India May, began their work with the Missionaries of Charity, the ministry begun by Mother Teresa. APU staff member Daren Bachman shared the following about the team's experience:
"Thus far we have focused our energy primarily at 'Kalighat', the Home for the Dying and Destitute. Many of the patients quickly worked their way into our hearts with their big smiles, diverse personalities, and physical ailments. We look forward to our work each day because we have come to realize the comfort and the joy each simple gesture brings to the patients. During the summer months, few volunteers make the journey to Kolkata to lend the much-needed hand. Consequently, we are given much responsibility. After only one week, our team has already been promoted to training other new volunteers. You would be proud of how each team member has embraced this experience and offered themselves unreservedly in service to the poorest of the poor."
After two weeks in India, due to the rising turmoil between India and Pakistan, the team was evacuated from Calcutta, India to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. In Cambodia the team worked with the Missionaries of Charity at their Home of Peace. Patients at this facility suffer from one of two different diseases... AIDS or tuberculosis. The team spent the majority of their time working with the children dying of AIDS. It took little time to establish significant relationships. Consequently the Sisters asked the team to take the children of the home and surrounding community on a 3 and a half hour trip to the beach. The children were thrilled to step foot in the ocean and enjoy the sand beneath their toes! It was priceless to see the joy that they experienced that day. Many of the team members count the days until they are able to return to continue ministry in this beautiful country.
