“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”
Mother Teresa
Introduction
When you think of truly inspirational women in history, Mother Teresa is one of them. Her life mission to help people experiencing poverty is second to none. A humble woman who had a burning inner strength and devoted her life to being a voice piece of spreading the word of God. Her message was that of love and the small acts of kindness that make every day a brighter day. Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on 26 August 1910 in Skopje, North Macedonia, Mother Teresa knew from age twelve that she wanted to become a missionary in India. In September 1928, at 18, she left home and started her mission. She joined the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ireland. She received the name Sister Mary Teresa after St Thérèse of Lisieux. In December 1928, she left Ireland to travel to India, arriving in Calcutta in January 1929 to teach in a girls’ school.
From 1937 onwards, she became known as Mother Teresa.
A train ride on 10 September 1946 changed her life forever. Here, she received her “inspiration” to carry out what she described as the work of God, devoting herself to helping people who lived in the slums of Kolkata. On 17 August 1948, she stepped out in her white and blue sari for the first time, for which she became widely recognised. In 1950, she founded an organisation called the Missionaries of Charity. This was a sisterhood dedicated to helping people experiencing poverty. It expanded internationally and, to this day, has around 4,500 nuns and 400 brothers across 87 countries, looking after the poor and sick in the slums of around 160 cities worldwide.
Selfless
Mother Teresa was a selfless person. Although criticised by some for her opposition to abortion, contraception and divorce, her tireless work in India with people experiencing poverty was endearing. This Albanian Indian Catholic nun held the same mantra as Mahatma Gandhi and Lady Diana: working tirelessly for those who had nothing in life and championing their cause. Her work was also instrumental in helping through relief work, refugees from floods, epidemics and famines, alcoholics, people experiencing homelessness, and people living with AIDS. Mother Teresa’s work has been recognised and acclaimed worldwide and has received several awards and distinctions, including the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize (1971) and the Nehru Prize for her promotion of international peace and understanding (1972). She also received the Balzan Prize (1979) and the Templeton and Magsaysay awards. She died in Calcutta in 1997, aged 87. In 2003, Pope John Paul II beatified her as a saint, which was finally made true in 2016 by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square.
