August 27, 1910 - Sep. 5, 1997
Overview:
Mother Teresa could be considered one of the greatest 20th century heroes. Her courage and hard work in India and surrounding countries improved the lives of so many, while she paved the way to a better future in the aid of third world countries.
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Mother Teresa
Miracle worker of the 20th century? More like the most dedicated worker. She changed the lives of so many people.
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Country:
Former Yugoslavia
Type
of hero: Environmental, Cultural and Development Rights
Attributes:
Determination.
Biography:
Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on August 27th, 1910 in present day Macedonia, Albania. While little information is known about Mother Teresa’s childhood, it is said that her dreams to become a missionary began in her early teens.
When she turned eighteen in 1928 she joined the Irish Catholic order of the Sisters of Loretto. After spending time in Ireland, she was sent to Calcutta to teach at St. Mary’s High School, where she later became principal. In her time there, she mastered the Hindu language and also a more local one, Bangali.
In 1930 she was given the name Teresa, originating from the St. Teresa of Avila; a Spanish saint from early in the 16th century. She then worked under that name, which is how she is now known around the world.
In 1946 when she was travelling on a train in India, she claimed she was called on by god to help the poor and needy. She called her vision, “a call within a call”.
She quit St. Mary’s and began working in the streets and shanty towns in and surrounding Calcutta. In 1950 her order was founded; the Missionaries of Charity whose work was a free service to the poor, or as she defined them “the unwanted”. In 1952 she worked to open her first hospital for the poor dying people of the city, and a year and a half later opened her first orphanage for underprivileged children.
She continued to open and find funding for other health services for the poor. She set up clinics for lepers, drug addicts and alcoholics, as well as mobile health clinics, houses for the homeless and malnutrition centres. In all, over two hundred centres.
For her work she received the Padra Shri award in 1962 and in 1979 received the Nobel Peace Prize for which she thought herself unworthy, as she believed she was just working God’s will.
In the later years of her life she intercepted waring forces to save forty mentally ill children, and she also created the largest charity organisation in Kosova, Albania her home country.
She stepped down from the head of her order in 1996, which at that time had well over 4,000 nuns, 400 priests and brothers, and over 200,000 volunteer workings around the world.
Mother Teresa passed away due to cardiac arrest on September 5th, 1997 after suffering years of heart and kidney problems. She was eighty-seven years of age.
Her legacy will live on as long as there are people in this world in need of help as she began the path to the solution to overcoming poverty in third world countries.
Citations
& References:
Links:
http://home1.pacific.net.sg/~alquek/teresa1.htm
http://www.albanian.com/main/culture/famous/teresa.html
http://home.pacbell.net/mandmcc/motherteresa.htm
http://www.tisv.be/mt/indmt.htm
http://www.netsrq.com/~dbois/m-teresa.html
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