The Power of Love

The Power of Love

I believe that although our world is full of suffering, love can heal all. I believe in love's strength to dissolve our emotional wounds and differences and that it is truly the only thing that lasts beyond space and time.

Two summers ago, in the sweltering hot of Calcutta, India, I stood in front of degenerated Shishu Bhavan orphanage on AJC Bose Road. It was my first day volunteering in a foreign country. I gripped my mother's hand as we entered the home of the "Angel of Mercy" otherwise known as Mother Theresa. The sisters in white saris told my mother and I that we would be working with the handicapped orphans and led us through the corridors. I grew afraid of what I might see, knowing that these children had been abandoned by their only families simply for their differences.

As we traveled up the stairs we could hear the screams of children and the "mashis" or nannies yelling for help in their native tongue, Bengali. We entered a room where twenty or so beds were lined up on the right and plastic toys were scattered around a large mattress enveloped in curtains sat on the left.

After taking in my surroundings, I observed children ranging from the ages of 2-16 either running about or loudly screaming in the laps of other volunteers. It was the first time I had ever been confronted with such a change from the American setting. The children were mentally handicapped, most of them profoundly. Lots of them also suffered from physical handicaps that disallowed them to walk. I wondered whether they could ever overcome the internal wounds their abandonment had beaten into them and constantly asked myself, "What can I give them?"

Throughout the day, I played with numerous children. I sat with them, drew with them, and sang the latest songs with them to their utmost pleasure. At one point, I hadn't even realized that it was already time for