Calcutta Mercy

The story begins in 1954 when Dr. Mark and Dr. Huldah Buntain, with their baby daughter, Bonnie, sailed to Calcutta for a one-year service opportunity. Observing first-hand the growing plight of India’s poor, they began to launch a series of compassionate ministries. Their one-year stay suddenly turned into 57 as their efforts grew into a large holistic network of programs.

Shortly following the Buntains’ arrival in Calcutta, a beggar walked up to them and screamed, “Feed our bellies and then tell us there is a God in heaven who loves us.” This inspired the Buntains to launch a feeding program to nourish the physical needs of the poor. Equally concerned about the uneducated children of India, Mark Buntain built a primary school in 1964, with an initial enrollment of 200 children.

With the success of their first school, the Buntains inaugurated over 100 more in Calcutta and its surrounding areas with hundreds of children enrolled. When a young student suddenly collapsed in class one day, Mark Buntain rushed her to a crowded, local hospital that was unable to promptly attend to the child’s emergency. Recognizing the sizable need for quality and affordable healthcare, Mark resolved to build a hospital of his own to serve the poor of the region.  On March 17, 1977, as donations poured in from numerous and unexpected sources, the 120-bed hospital opened its doors to the city of Calcutta. Over the years, the Buntains continued to create new programs including an outpatient facility, nursing school, vocational training schools, home for boys, and rural clinics.

Today, Calcutta Mercy Ministries feeds, educates and medically assists more than 25,000 people a day. Our Hospital provides quality healthcare at an affordable price with 173 beds and 30 multi-specialty centers. Serving over 100,000 patients a year, 40 percent are treated free of charge irrespective of their caste, creed, or religion. Its breadth of care continues to expand as new medical services and facilities are added each year and Mercy Clinics are planted in surrounding villages. Dedicated to the complete health and happiness of Calcutta’s poor, Calcutta Mercy Ministries supports a larger holistic network of programs that includes a blind school, daily feeding stations for 25,000, leadership training centers, and a Hope House for disadvantaged children.