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Kolkata, India
Kolkata (formerly named Calcutta), the capital city of the State of West Bengal in Eastern India, is home to 13-14 million people. The city was founded by the British in 1690, and as the capital city of the British East India Company, grew to become the largest city in Asia, and a primary political, commercial, and intellectual center.
Independence from Britain in 1947, and the partition of the subcontinent into "Hindu" India and "Muslim" Pakistan (including modern-day Bangladesh) resulted in large-scale communal rioting and bloodshed. Kolkata was flooded with millions of immigrants in 1947, 1951, and 1971. These huge waves of immigrants, combined with communal violence, political turmoil, and corruption, have contributed to the enormous economic depression in Kolkata that has brought the city to an advanced state of decay and poverty today. Operation World describes Kolkata as the city with the lowest urban standard of living in the world, with 5.5 million residents living in squatter conditions.
Kolkata is named for Kali, the Hindu goddess of death and destruction. More than 2,000 altars and shrines devoted to Kali are found throughout the city today. The people groups of Kolkata have only scarcely been touched with the Gospel. Approximately 76% of Kolkata's residents are Hindus, and 23% are Muslims. Less than one-tenth of 1% of Kolkatans are Evangelical Christians - a tiny minority.
For the most part, students will be assigned two placements during their stay in Kolkata. Students will be asked to invest themselves significantly in their primary placements, while their placements with the Sisters are considered optional, depending on time and energy. The primary placement will be in the morning with one of dozen our ministry partners. Opportunities include teaching children in a variety of educational settings (from formal to non-formal education), micro-enterprise development among slum residents or commercial sex workers, or soccer outreach to male youth in slum communities.
The secondary placement will be with the Missionaries of Charity. Students will have the opportunity to serve the sick, dying or orphaned at one of the many Missionaries of Charity facilities throughout the city. Students will be placed based on their skill set and interest.
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