Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa was born in 26 August 1910, as Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Macedonia in an Albanian peasant's family, She had another elder sister and brother. They were also good nature, father was the Albanian builder. At the age of 18 she joined the order of the sisters of our lady of Loretta in Ireland. On 1st December 1928 Teresa  left for India to being new life. In 1931 she began teaching at a Calcutta girl's school. There she was moved to see the suffering to the sick and the dying destitute. In 1952 she found Normal Heyday for the sick and the dying destitute. Then in 1953 she set up an orphanage to take care to the children who where deprived of the motherly love and affection and also the people who were  attracted by incurable  diseases like lepers. After forming her own order of 'The Missionaries of Charity' in 1952 Mother literally picked up the poor, the crippled, the unwanted and the needy people from the streets and gutters and took them to her home for poor. She gave them not only the medical care but also love and affection which they were devoid of. The main aim of her order in her own words was to take care of, "the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone."

She opened many homes for the dying, the poor, those suffering from leprosy etc. She wanted to give all these people their basic right of being human beings; to live and die like humans. She looked after orphaned children and homeless youth in her Nirmala Shishu Bhawan and gave them shelter and food. She never had money for all her charity work and never did she require it. God always took care of it! Once they did not have rice left to be cooked for the lunch. Just when they were thinking what to do, an old lady came and donated a bag full of rice, which when measured before cooking, came out to be the exact amount they needed for their lunch. Such was her dedication that even God helped her all the way.

 Slowly and steadily she spread her work throughout the globe in different countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and United States of America. She founded many orders like, The Missionaries of Charity Brothers and later on for the Sisters, the Co-Workers of Mother Teresa, the Sick and Suffering Co-workers, the Lay Missionaries of Charity and the Corpus Christi Movement for Priests. Some of her commendable works were to help the hungry in Ethiopia, radiation victims at Chernobyl, earthquake victims in Armenia, rescuing 37 children from a hospital, by brokering a temporary cease-fire between the Israeli army and Palestinian guerillas and evacuating young patients through the war zone. By 1996, her charity had about 500 missions running in over 100 countries.

For her exemplary service to the mankind she was awarded many times. She received Padma Bhushan in 1962 and Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in 1969 by the Indian Government. She also received India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna, in the year 1972 and 1980. In 1962, she received Ramon Magsaysay Award by the Philippines government and Pope John XXIII Peace Prize in 1972. Her brigade of awards includes the Pacem in Terris Award in 1976 and many honorary degrees and merits by different countries.She sacrificed her whole life for the service of  humanity. And great woman died on 5th September,1997.