As Syona Fernandez prepared for her journey into the depths of Kolkata’s poverty late last year, she was prepared for a culture shock, but she was surprised by the impact the experience would have on her faith.
Syona, a parishioner of St Jerome’s Parish in Spearwood, spent three weeks in December with friend Michelle Stephen with the Sisters of Charity – the order founded by Blessed Mother Teresa – immersing themselves in the lives of those the pending saint would describe as “the poorest of the poor”.
Spending time in houses for the dying, with abandoned orphan children, those with leprosy and families living on the street, Syona’s heart melted from the moment she arrived.
The 18-year-olds spent the majority of their time in Shishu Bhavan, a house for special needs children who had been abandoned.
“On the first day, I found myself crying as I cradled and sang to a young girl who just smiled at me,” Syona recalled.
“It was such a powerful and beautiful experience to be met with, fresh off a plane.”
Syona and Michelle are both studying Biomedical Science at the University of Notre Dame in Fremantle and have shared an admiration for Mother Teresa from an early age, being drawn more by her humility than her many accolades and accomplishments.
Both women had initially been concerned by the rawness of the poverty they knew they would encounter but, after sharing their connection with Mother Teresa’s spirituality, all fears were dispersed.
“We felt that humility was what God asked of us and what Jesus taught us,” Syona shared.
“There was something so beautiful in humbling ourselves to serve those people Mother Teresa cared for and it was what led us to go.”
Syona and Michelle were touched by the loving environment the Sisters had created, especially for those children who had been abandoned, some only a few months old. Many of their days were spent playing, singing, cleaning and feeding the children, trying to bring them as much love and laughter as they could.
One of the highlights of their life-changing mission was a night spent anonymously dropping off gift packages to rickshaw drivers who would regularly present at the dispensary with badly infected feet from running barefoot on the sharp gravel roads.
Another “precious moment” Syona recalled was a visit to the leper colony Mother Teresa had founded.
She still wears a simple string bracelet made for her by a young girl she encountered there – a reminder of the beauty she found in a community that had been shunned by society.
Despite the degree of poverty Syona witnessed in Kolkata, it was this depth of beauty within it that provided her with the inspiration to continue reaching out.
It is a passion that continues to resonate within her and she knows will one day bring her back.
“Being in the place where Mother Teresa’s spirituality was born – praying by her tomb, visiting her room, adoration each night and hearing the sisters sing in the evening truly strengthened my faith,” she said.
“I found the most meaning and happiness in serving others.”