The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2007

J U L Y - A UGU S T 2 0 0 7 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 77 What we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But if that dropwas not in the ocean, I think the oceanwouldbe less because of that missing drop. —Mother Teresa O ur bus smelled like incense. Red velvet curtains hung from the dingy windows, and I could hear the rattling motor. I was half-asleep after our flight toCalcutta, but I still felt the dry heat of India and the dust being stirredup from the road as we drove along. We stoppedoutside a garishlydecoratedhotel. Through the dark I could see figures lined up, sleeping on the sidewalk. Some had rickshaws, dogs andmosquitonets. Some hadnothing. It was unlike anything I had seen before, and I felt a twinge of guilt as we dragged our suitcases up the stairs of thehotel toour air-conditionedroomswith hot showers and soft mattresses. Every morning for the next week, we worked at an orphanage run by the Sisters of Charity, founded by Mother Teresa. Blind,mentally andphysically dis- abled, uncontrollable, violent ... eachof the orphanswas essentiallyhelpless. Therewas no introduction, no instructions, no ori- entation. The sister in charge of the chil- dren was too busy changing one boy’s soiledunderwearwhilepullinganother boy off a bookcase. She breathlessly explained that theyhadvery fewvolunteers thatweek. We later learned the harsh reality. Youngmenandwomen traveling through India find the idea of service appealing and come to theorphanage. They last for aday, maybe two. It’s not the “warm, fuzzy, feel- good” service they are looking for. After our first day, part of me under- stoodwhy theywouldn’t want to go back. Iwas frustratedanddisappointed. Thepre- vious service Ihaddonehad tangible results. Therewas agratificationthatmade thehard work worth it. There was no gratification fromtheseorphans. I felt as if I hadn’t been able to make a difference. There are some things we’d rather not see. At first, I foundpoverty, disability and helplessness that I didn’t want to compre- hend. I felt a complete sense of power- lessness. As a group sent toCalcutta todo “hard-core service,” we had felt powerful, important, ready to take on the forces of illness and poverty. We were the bringers of hope and love and strength. By the end of the first day, I doubted whether I had the ability to bring any of those things to the orphans. I could not heal their wounds, undo their malnour- ishment, give them money to end their poverty, or find themhomes. Over thenext fewdays, I realized that true service is know- ing this, and trying todo it anyway. I found strength in thinking that even though I got hardly any reaction from the orphans, I might be helping them somehow. In the big scheme of things we vol- unteers did little to change the lives of the orphans. For a week we may have brought thema littlemore happiness, but in the end, poverty and disability win. Initially, I thought our purpose in Calcutta was to fight these forces, to help those who have no one else to help them. I was wrong. If our competition was poverty and disability, then we had already lost. The orphans and sisters would go onwith their lives after we were gone, as they did before we arrived. But this realization doesn’t make our service any less important. The true purpose of our trip was to learn from what we had seen. If India changed us enough that we becamemore aware of the effects of poverty in the world, then it has served its purpose. If Indiamade us encourage other people to go to Calcutta, or find a way to do ser- vice, then it has served its purpose. If you can change one person’s life for one sec- ond, then that should be enough. But if you can allow the people you are serving to change you, then you will find that it lasts for a lifetime. A F S A N E W S 2007 AFSA MERIT SCHOLAR WINNING ESSAY A Drop in the Ocean BY EMMA CUNNINGHAM AFSA NEWS BRIEFS Home Exchange Program for Retirees Is Online AFSA has recently become the Web host for the Foreign Service Retiree Home Exchange Program. This pro- gramwas privately established in 1996 to enable Foreign Service retirees, spous- es and widows who are members of AFSA, DACOR, USIAAA or retired foreign diplomat associations, to enjoy travel experiences in the United States and around the world at reasonable cost, by sharing their homes. Members of FSRHEP— you do have to join to participate —have access to four categories of home-stay options: 1) Home Exchange: Two parties nego- tiate directly the exchange of their homes. 2) Home Visiting: Owners provide a guestroom and bathroom for a reason- ably short, specific time to be arranged directly by the parties. 3) Reasonable Rental: Parties agree on a modest rent. 4) Home Sitting: Owners list their home as available for housesitting for specific time period(s). Members of FSRHEP may access all listings and may post one or more list- ings of their own. All communications will take place between the parties involved, including reference checks, exchange of photographs, etc. AFSA hosts the program but does not vouch for any individual postings. Participants are not committed to any exchange, visit or rental simply because their properties are listed in the directory. However, they should acknowledge each request they receive in a reasonable time. You can sign up for this program online at www.afsa.org/retiree/hep.cfm . There is a $25 registration fee. If you have any questions, please contact Yvonne Thayer at homeexchange@ afsa.org .