Great Social Worker: Mother Teresa

There are hardly any person who as not heard the name of Mother Teresa. She is a name of world fame. She dedicated her life to the service and help of the poorest and needy people.

Near the famous Kali temple of Kolkata, there is a home for the poor and the ailing. The home is called, "Nirmal Haridaya". It provides shelter to those who are very sick, helpless and whom nobody wants. Mother Teresa treated these people with full love and affection. She, as a nurse made them feel at home. She provided shelter to the orphans, i.e., the children who had no one to look after them, unwanted old people, men and women whose sickness was beyond treatment. Mother Teresa treated the lepers. She worked in the slums of Kolkata where the living conditions were extremely miserable and pathetic.

Mother Teresa was born on 27th August, 1910, in Yugoslavia. Her name was Agnes Gonxha Bajahin. She joined the Lareto Convert at the age of 18 and became a nun. She took up the profession of teaching at Darjeeling and later on at Entally (kolkota). She taught Geography from 1929 to 1928 at St. Marys High School and Lorelo Convent in Kolkata. As she had a great desire to serve the sick and poor, she got the training of a nurse. She was grieved to see the miserable living conditions of slum dwellers. So she started her first school in the Moti Jheel Slum in Kolkata. The people of Moti Jheel lived in great poverty and misery.

When Mother Teresa saw this, she felt very sad and thought that she had no right to stay in the comfortable environment of her convent. She thought that the best way to serve God would be to serve and look after the sick and poor. She decided to leave the convent and later established a new order of her own called the 'Missionaries of chari.'

When the Kolkata Corporation saw the noble work of Mother Teresa, they gave her a building near the Kali temple.

Mother Teresa and other nuns working with her led a very simple life. They wore rough white sarees with blue borders. 

People donated as much as they could for Mother's homes. There were a few incidents which are interested to note about how Mother got the things when she needed them. One such incident occurred during winter, when the sister had no quilts for the poor patients. Just then, a man brought quilts and mattresses to donate. Another incident relates to a time when the sisters of charity ran out of rice and an unknown lady brought the adequate amount rice that was required by them