Mother Teresa's Nuns Welcome All To Home Of Compassion
Dhaka (AsiaNews/Ucan) - Home of Compassion, operated by Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity (MC) in Dhaka, has made a difference to thousands of destitute people since it opened in 1976.
Every year the home provides care to some 1,000 physically and mentally disabled as well as destitute people, according to Sister Odette, its assistant superior. She said some disabled people have stayed in the 100-bed home for 10-15 years. One family for which Home of Compassion has made a tremendous difference is that of Mohammad Nur Islam, his wife and their two small children. Islam was back at the home for medical treatment in April after finishing almost a year of treatment in February. He told his story about the two-year ordeal he faced after being electrocuted at work in Jessore, 145 kilometers southwest of Dhaka.
The 35-year-old Muslim man, a mason, was fastening iron rods on a house roof there in May 2003 when a rod passed up to him by fellow laborers touched an exposed electrical supply wire, electrocuting him. His co-workers carried him to Jessore Medical Hospital for immediate treatment.
However, "the treatment was not so good," said Islam, whose torso, head, hands, legs, thighs and fingers were burned. His wife, Bilkis Nahar, transferred him to a private clinic, but they could not pay the bills, so the clinic stopped treating him. His wife then tried to care for him at their home, a shack in nearby Kagojpukur village.
There he stayed for three months without any medical attention, and the burns became infected, emitting a putrid stench and driving people away.
Eventually, Nahar learned about medical services provided by missionary nuns in nearby Jhikorgacha, 10 kilometers southwest of Jessore. She took her husband to them, but a four-month course of treatment did not heal him and they advised that he to go to Home of Compassion.
The family had no means of transportation to Dhaka, however, and the idea of going to a big city intimidated them, so Islam remained at home for another three months, during which time Nahar thought of resorting to begging. But neighbors, fearing she might be exploited, dissuaded her and raised money to keep the family afloat.
Meanwhile, without proper attention, Islam's infections worsened, prompting his wife to seek help again from the nuns in Jhikorgacha, who arranged transportation for the family and an escort for the daylong trip to Dhaka.
After they arrived at Home of Compassion, in the capital's Tejgaon area, the MC nuns brought Islam to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where he underwent another four months of treatment including skin grafts for his burns. He then was able to walk unaided but remained at the home for follow-up care.
The family stayed at the MC home for close to a year, during which time Nahar took a three-month sewing course at nearby Bottomly Home Orphanage. "I stayed in this place as if it were my own home," Islam said. "My two children enjoyed eating and playing, and my wife helped the nuns in many ways. The nuns frequently changed my bandages."
One day during their stay, Nahar went back to see their home outside Jessore, only to discover it had been destroyed by a flood, a common occurrence in low-lying Bangladesh. When the family left to go home, the nuns gave them blankets, clothing, money for transportation and 2,000 taka (about US) toward a new shelter before escorting them to a bus stop.
Islam and his family built another home, but his sores became infected again and he returned alone to the Home of Compassion in April for additional treatment. During this visit, the MC nuns gave him a new sewing machine so his wife could work to support the family.
Islam, who can no longer do manual labor, hoped his wife could make enough money for him to start a small sandal business along a footpath.
Before departing from Home of Compassion at the end of April, Islam said, "In this place I received better care than I received from my parents."
According to Sister Lucy Gomes, superior of the home, "Our work itself is the witness of our dedication, and poor people will feel it through their lives." Publicity of their work and service is not essential, the nun told with a smile.
Aside from Home of Compassion, the MC nuns run Shishu Bhaban in the Islampur area of Dhaka. This facility gives shelter to single pregnant women. Sister Bandita of Shishu Bhaban said about 10,000 people use the shelter every year, and it works closely with hospitals.
Shishu Bhaban was established in 1972 to care for women raped by Pakistani soldiers during the liberation war and the children born as a result. Troops from what was then known as West Pakistan were blamed for numerous massacres and other atrocities during the war through which East Pakistan attained independence as Bangladesh. At that time, MC nuns came across the border from India and established a shelter in Khulna, western Bangladesh, to provide relief food and medical aid.
Blessed Teresa of Kolkata founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950, to quench "the thirst of love " fo Jesus towards "the poors of the poors".
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