Nothing Is Thrown Away

November 6, 2006 — The home is called Sidist Kilo. The brief description on our itinerary sheet said it was a home for the "destitute and dying" but inside the doors, the atmosphere slowly gave way to a different feeling altogether, that of peace and love.

I was part of a group of visitors from CRS headquarters in Baltimore that visited Sidist Kilo in early November to see a partnership at work — the partnership of CRS and the Missionaries of Charity.

When we arrived at the home, we were greeted by Sister Amrit, who graciously agreed to give us a tour of the facilities after she explained a little about how the sisters worked and what we could expect to see. We were made to feel welcome, but we were told there could be no pictures inside the home as the sisters feel strongly about protecting the privacy of the residents.

Our first stop was the chapel. Then we passed through the door to the entrance of the home, which on that particular day was housing about 600 people. When the rains come, there are many more, Sister Amrit told us.

Salaam: 'Peace' and 'Hello'

Our tour began in the men's residence. Some men were walking around, a few were on crutches and many were confined to bed. But there was something common to all these men, regardless of their state of health: they were able to smile and extend a hand to their visitors and a "salaam" or "hello." Our hesitancy to approach them was suddenly gone as we responded to these gestures of friendship. We were no longer feeling like intruders; that first "salaam" showed us our common bond.

Sister Amrit next took us through the clinic areas. There was an in-house clinic for the residents as well as an outpatient clinic for those people who came to the gate of the home to seek treatment for themselves or a sick child.

Since it was getting late in the day, I asked Sister Amrit if some of the people would be asked to come back tomorrow. She replied, "No, they will be seen today." Apparently the Missionaries of Charity are not constrained by the notion of a nine-to-five workday.

Next on our tour was the women's residence, which was set up much like the men's, except for one large room where those who were well enough were participating in various activities. One young woman, in particular, caught my attention as she sat stitching something. I stopped to admire the colorful stitches she was making and, to my surprise, found she was stitching on a large plastic bag. On the other side of the bag were the letters USAID. She was sewing on an empty bag, which once held bulgur wheat sent by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Dr. Dehab Belay, who accompanied our group on the visit, explained the use of the bag in simple terms: "Nothing is thrown away." I asked the young woman whose work caught my eye if she sold her designs, and she smiled shyly and said yes. I asked if I might purchase one of the reincarnated USAID bags with her needlework. She immediately got up from her chair to go to her room and get some of her finished handiwork.

As she walked away from us, Sister Amrit explained that this lovely young woman had been left at the gates of Sidist Kilo when she was a young child. A child like many other abandoned children, except for the fact that she had no legs. Sister Amrit did not know how the girl had lost her legs. Neither did she claim any credit for the Missionaries of Charity providing the girl with prosthetic legs. But it was clear to me that without the sisters, this lovely girl would not have been walking to her room to get bags for us to purchase.

'Trust, Surrender and Cheerfulness'

I was struck by many things that day as we toured Sidist Kilo, and one of the most impressive things was the attitude of Sister Amrit. She was matter-of-fact but peaceful and cheerful. In fact, the motto of the Missionaries of Charity is trust, surrender and cheerfulness. We asked Sister Amrit how she maintained a cheerful attitude and her answer was, "When we don't feel cheerful, then we pray."

The final part of the tour was in the children's area. All the children were playing together in a large section that included an outside play area. One little boy ran to hug Sister Amrit when she entered the room. It was obvious that she represented love and security to him as they exchanged hugs and soft words. Sister Amrit explained that some of the young children would be adopted, but that others would remain with the sisters because there was no place else for them to go. I remembered the phrase Dr. Belay used: "Nothing is thrown away."