Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa was one of the greatest social worker of the world. She gave relief to innumerable diseased and dying people with the gentle touch of her hands. Mother Teresa’s original name was Agnus Gonxha Bojaxhiu. She was born on 26 August 1910 in Skopje town Yugoslavia. Her father Mr. Nicholas Bojaxhiu was a building contractor, who had constructed the first theatre in Skopje. Agnus was highly influenced by her mother, as she was a religious lady and prompted her to love God from the core of her heart.
Her father died in the year 1917, and her mother had to toil day and nights together to bring up her children. Agnus was only twelve years old when she first felt the desire of becoming the Nun. Her mother was initially reluctant to her idea, as she thought that Agnus was still a small child and she could not decide for her future at such a tender age. Mother Teresa joined a Christian Mission at the young age of 17, with an objective to serve the poorest of poor people of the world. While working in the Loreto Nuns Convent at Dublin in Ireland, she came to know about India and its culture. Mother Teresa reached Calcutta. in the year 1929 and took the job of a teacher in St. Mary’s School situated on Rigon Road 40
in Calcutta. Mother Teresa worked in the School from 1929 to 1948. She was later on appointed as the Principal of the school. In the year 1948, Mother Teresa submitted her resignation as the principal and engaged herself in the service of the diseased and downtrodden people. Mother Teresa wanted to work in India for two reasons. Firstly, that she loved Indian people and secondly, she knew that India was a poor country, where 80% of the population was living amidst extremely poor conditions and didn’t have enough money to even have two meals a day. Mother Teresa told that she left the Loreto Convent, as it was the order of omnipotent God to do so. On 10 September 1946, she was travelling on a train to Darjeeling when she heard the call of Almighty God, that prompted her to leave the job of the principal and work for the welfare of poor and needy people of the world. Mother Teresa took up Indian citizenship in the year 1948 and began to serve the sick and poor people of the country. Mother Teresa and her companions would take up the sick people from the pavements and streets and look after them till they breathed their last in peace. One of the persons said before dying, “I have lived the life of the animals, but am dying like an angel.” This virtuous woman received Magsaysay Award in 1962, Joseph Kennedy Award in 1971, Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and Bharat Ratna in 1980. Mother Teresa eliminated the fear of death from the minds of the people and told them to pray to God to grant them a peaceful death. Mother Teresa was the greatest of great human beings born on the earth. This great servant of the mankind left for her heavenly abode on 5 September 1997.
