 |
| BBC |
—Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)
What one sees upon entering the nursery at a Nirmala Shishu Bhavan branch in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India, is the babies and toddlers responding to exceptional care from the co-workers.
What one feels is the love and warmth that fills this safe space.
Estimates of street-connected children in Kolkata vary widely due to the brief duration of their time in those locations. Still, figures suggest hundreds of thousands, with some reports indicating as many as 250,000 or more in the city.
Major cities like Mumbai and New Delhi may each have one million or more street children, including those living or working on the streets, according to The Hope Foundation.
It's places like Nirmala Shishu Bhavan where temporary care is given to children who are abandoned, physically and mentally challenged, suffering from malnutrition, and other diseases. In India alone, there are over 60 such children's homes.
Although the Kanpur branch in Kolkata was closed in 2022 due to lease issues, the Maidan and Secunderabad branches remain active, serving as orphanages and welcoming visitors, with some operating 24 hours a day.
All are part of Mother Teresa's ministry to the poor in India.
A Divine call
How did this adventure in faith get its start?
"On the train journey to Darjeeling on the 10th of September 1946 is where the Missionaries of Charity begin—in the depths of God's infinite longing to love and be loved.
"It was in that train to Darjeeling that I heard the call to give up all and follow Him into the slums—to serve Him and the poorest of the poor ... I knew it was His will and that I had to follow Him. There was no doubt it was going to be His work."
Those are Mother Teresa's words describing her "call within a call."
Born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1910, in Skopje, then part of the Ottoman Empire, and raised by a deeply religious Catholic family, Mother Teresa was an Albanian-Indian nun who founded a compassionate mission unlike any other. She prepared well for her death on September 5, 1997, at 87, by establishing a charity with the necessary values, leadership, and structure to carry on the work.
Acts of mercy, love, and grace
In 1950, Mother Teresa laid the foundation for the Missionaries of Charity in what was Calcutta. This dedicated enterprise, starting with just twelve members, has expanded to 139 countries and now has more than 5,700 nuns and co-workers managing 760 homes, 244 of which are in India.
The sisters run orphanages, homes for those dying of AIDS, and care for refugees, the blind, disabled, aged, and alcoholics. The charity is active in Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America, Europe, and Australia.
They have 19 homes in Kolkata alone, including homes for women, orphaned children, and the dying; a school for street children; and a leper colony.
The best-known service is the Kalighat Home for the Dying in South Kolkata. This hospice was established by Mother Teresa in 1952, using an abandoned Hindu temple.
Beyond the traditional vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, members of the congregation also pledge a fourth vow: to offer wholehearted and free service to the poorest of the poor.
"Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love," Mother Teresa is quoted as saying.
Today, the Missionaries of Charity is led by Sr. M. Joseph, MC, Superior General from the Mother House in Kolkata.
Nothing is easy
In addition to being removed from a building on government land after their lease was not renewed in 2021, the Missionaries of Charity lost their license to accept funds from other countries that same year, a source of nearly $13 million in income. That affected 22,000 direct dependents in India, leading, for a time, to the rationing of services.
Then, in January 2022, the Indian government restored the Charity license, permitting the religious order's Indian provinces to receive funding from foreign sources.
Sainthood for all?
One of Mother Teresa's insightful observations continues to motivate her charity: "The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved."
She went on to say that loneliness "urges us to look around and notice those who may be silently struggling."
Princess Diana, who was reported to have been very close to Mother Teresa, wrote, "I found in her the direction I've been searching for all these years." That same thought is no doubt shared by countless individuals.
The Economic Times pointed out how her work was recognized in India. She was issued a diplomatic passport by the Indian government and received the Padma Shri in 1962 and the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in 1969. In 1980, she was honored with the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award.
In 1979, the Norwegian Nobel Committee recognized her sacrifice and service by awarding Mother Teresa the Nobel Peace Prize "for her work in bringing help to suffering humanity through the Missionaries of Charity."
The Nobel Committee announced that she refused the traditional banquet and instead donated the $192,000 to the needy in Kolkata.
On September 4, 2016, 19 years after her passing and following Pope Francis' canonization, Mother Teresa became Saint Teresa of Kolkata.
A decade since sainthood, and, in a world of great human need, this globally revered but selfless figure remains an inspiring life of faith.
Strategist.com
© Bredholt & Co.
