Mother Teresa

“Life is beauty, admire it. Life is a dream, realize it. Life is wealth, keep it. Life is a promise, fulfill it. Life is a song, sing it. Life is too precious, do not destroy it. Life is life, fight for it!” were the lines of Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu who is now known as the famous Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa born to an Albanian family on August 26th, 1910 in a city called Skopje, Serbia. As a child, Agnes lived in a quite favorable house and was educated in local schools. Her father was a building contractor while her mother was a homemaker. At the age of nine Agnes father died leaving her mom to raise her and her two elder siblings. Mrs. Bojaxhiu embroidered clothes that got her a daily income to raise her children.

Since a young age Agnes helped poor people by giving them food to eat and clothes to wear. At the age of twelve she decided that she wanted to become a nun. When she was eighteen she left her family and house knowing that she would never see them again. Studying in Ireland for a year to become a nun she took another step ahead and went to India. There she took her final vows of becoming a nun and adopted the name Sister Teresa in honor of Therese of Lisieux. She worked in a school in Calcutta, India for many years proving herself as a good teacher and principal. When she saw dead bodies on streets and everyday miseries of Calcutta she convinced herself that she should be working among the poor and desperate people of Calcutta rather than rich. Sister Teresa requested permission from Pope Pius XII to work outside the convent in 1948. Finally after two years she was granted with the approval to work in the slums. To help the people who were sick she studied with the Medical Missionary Sisters. Wearing a white sari with a blue edge and a cross sign hanging on her left shoulder Sister Teresa established a school for homeless children and a place that gave first aid to the sick and wounded. Soon children started calling her, “Ma,” an Indian word for mother and then she became known as Mother Teresa. She started expanding her work around the world and got more donations as she told people about her work and made them realize how people were dying of hunger and cold around the world. Like all others Mother Teresa received her share of criticism on abortion but she said nothing and smiled. Mother Teresa was not in favor of abortion and believed that a child is a God’s best gift to a family but many people protested her about this idea.

In 1983 when Mother Teresa was in India she suffered a severe heart attack but that did not stop her from working she slept at 2a.m and woke up again ready and fresh to help the people in need at 5a.m. On September 6, 1997 Mother Teresa died a beautiful death with millions of people attending her funeral and praying for her.

Many people think of her as the world’s greatest and most honored humanitarian who ever lived. Mother Teresa as accomplished more than she thought of she ever would. Today she and her associates have more than six hundred missions of charity in one hundred and twenty