Volunteer Opportunity for Massage Therapists

Mother Theresa’s Missionaries of Charity in India offers a wonderful opportunity to volunteer, share your unique skills and have a uniquely rewarding experience in an exotic land.  It has some truly unique advantages:

1.  The Missionaries of Charity Will Let You Volunteer.  Having the inspiration to volunteer is only the beginning.  Actually getting the right to volunteer can be a long circuitous struggle.

Many volunteer organisations or NGO’s may require:

• Extensive volunteer experience
• A minimum time commitment of 6 months, a year or more
• Up front payment of “administration fees” of $1,000 or more
• An application process that takes months to complete.
• Very specific skill sets and certification requirements

At the Missionaries of Charity, there is no administration fee, no application process, no minimum skill requirements, no minimum time commitments.  They only require that you want to help.  For myself, I volunteered with the Missionaries of Charity purely by chance.  Scarcely had I decided to visit Calcutta and see Mother Theresa’s Mission than I was accepted with open arms by the sisters of the mission.  In fact, the sisters bent the rules to ensure that I would be given a chance to volunteer in the short time that I had available.

2.  The Missionaries of Charity will give you the chance to really put your knowledge to use.

The training for becoming a registered massage therapist in Ontario is pretty extensive.  But there were many times in class that I questioned why I needed to know pathologies and contraindications that I believed would never present themselves in my clinic.  At the Missionaries of Charity, I treated clients with swelling due to diabetes or cardiac insufficiency, hairline fractures, stroke survivors, fractures, spinal compression and dementia.  The work seemed all the more urgent because at the time I was there, there were no other volunteers with a background in physical rehabilitation.  The professional qualified care you provide can make an imporant difference to a patient that would not receive that care otherwise.

3. The Missionaries of Charity Will Not Try to Convert You

They are a Catholic organisation, but they have volunteers from all faiths and creeds.  At the time I was there, most of the volunteers were Buddhist Japanese.

4. The Missionaries of Charity Will Fit Into Your Schedule

As there is no minimum time requirement, you are free to come and go as you please.  Volunteering with them can fit perfectly into a break between your other travels in India.  It can be as short as a day or as long as years.

5.  The Missionaries of Charity is in India

It can be the perfect opportunity to visit a fascinating exotic country.  India is a difficult country to travel, but in these difficulties you will be challenged to truly learn about yourself and your work.