On behalf of myself, Fr Badaoui and my Brother Priests, we would ...

OUR TRIP TO KOLKATA, INDIA
by Loraine Faris
S i x a d v e n t u r o u s l a d i e s l e f t S A o n F e b 6 t h o n
a t r i p t o C a l c u t t a i n I n d i a , n o w o f f i c i a l l y k n o w n
a s K o l k a t a , t o v i s i t S i s t e r M a r y R a f q a ( G i l l i a n
S i m p s o n ) , d a u g h t e r t o H e r b y a n d Y v o n n e S i m p s o n
f r o m L i n m e y e r . T h e g r o u p t h a t w e n t w a s m y
s i s t e r , Y v o n n e a n d h e r d a u g h t e r T a r y n S i m p s o n , m y
younger sister, Denise Jabour, together with
m y s e l f a n d m y d a u g h t e r , D o n n a F a r i s a n d D r
Alexis Oosthuizen, a very good friend.
Once landing in Kolkata it was prearranged that Sister Rafqa would meet us at the airport and
after looking everywhere for her, eventually found her standing outside waiting. No one is allowed
into arrivals unless you pay. Well needless to say tears flowed, and hugging and kissing was
showered on her. We went with Sister Rafqa in a Missionary of Charity “Ambulance” to our hotel,
The Peerless Inn, which is located about 2km from St Johns Contemplative Convent. No research or
tour guides could have prepared us for the traffic, hooters, pollution, congestion and masses of people
a l l a r o u n d a n d t h i s w a s a n i m m e d i a t e c u l t u r a l s h o c k t o u s . T o p u t i t m i l d l y w e s a w h u n d r e d s o f y e l l o w
taxis – tuc tucs – rickshaws – bikes all hooting and swerving in front of each other – there is no
apparent order – robots rarely in existence. There are many homeless dogs running around, and the
dirt and poverty is totally prevalent. Families live, sleep and trade on the side walks amongst all the
chaos and filth. India has 1.2 billion people of which 400 million are uneducated. Kolkata has nearly
2 0 m i l l i o n i n o n e c i t y - a l m o s t h a l f o f o u r p o p u l a t i o n h e r e i n S o u t h A f r i c a .