Mother Teresa

“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person” ~ Mother Teresa

Born in 1910 in Macedonia, Mother Teresa was someone the whole world looked up to. Even today, almost 13 years after her death, she is fondly remembered as someone who was always a great servant of humanity.  An Albanian Catholic nun who came to India and founded the Missionaries of Charity in India, Mother Teresa is an inspiration for people all over the world. While alive, she worked selflessly for poverty stricken people in Kolkata.  In fact, she was honored with the Nobel Prize for her selfless contribution to society. Mother Teresa was born in a successful merchant family and was the youngest of three children. However, at the young age of 12, she decided to become a missionary. By the age of 18, she had left her parental home and joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns with missions in India.

The prevailing poverty in Kolkata affected Mother Teresa deeply and by 1948, she was devoted to working among the poorest people and slums in Kolkata.

 In Kolkata, she worked tirelessly for the poor and homeless. She started an open theater for homeless children there. Soon help started pouring in from different quarters and many voluntary helpers started pitching in the efforts. She also started receiving financial support from church organizations and municipal authorities.

In 1950, she received permission to start her own order and thus Missionaries of Charity was formed. The Charity, which originally started with just 12 members, today has more than 4000 nuns running orphanages, charity centers worldwide. They work for the poor, homeless, AIDS patients, disabled, alcoholics, victims of floods, epidemics from Asia, Africa, etc. Currently, Missionaries of Charity is present in more than 100 countries.

Mother Teresa’s work has been well- recognized throughout the world and this great stop@nothing lady  has received various awards and distinctions like John Pope XXIII Peace Prize, Nehru Prize for Promotion of Peace and Understanding, to name a few. She has also received the highest civilian honor in India, the Bharat Ratna in 1980.