Whos is she?
She was born in Skopje, capital of the Republic of Macedonia on 26 August 1910 at 2.25 p.m.
At the tender age of 12, she was already convinced that she should commit herself to a religious life. Subsequently at the age of 18, she left her home to join the Sisters of Loreto as a missionary and never see her family again.
In 1929, she arrived in Darjeeling, India, near the Himalayan Mountains to begin her novitiate toward religious life and nun-hood. She took her solemn vows as a nun on 14 May 1937, while teaching in Loreto Covent School in Calcutta.
Disturbed by the poverty that surrounded her in Calcutta, she recognized her true calling on 10 September 1946 and later leaved the convent to begin her missionary work in 1948.
Her first year of missionary work was fraught with difficulties and hardship. In her diary she had mentioned that there were times she faces doubts, loneliness and temptation to return to the comfort life of the convent.
On 7 October 1950, she received the permission to start the diocesan congregation that would later become the Missionary of Charity. Its mission was to care for, in her own words, "the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, and all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone." It was also at this point that a savior was born to the world and she never again looked back to her life in convent. Who was this lady who dedicated his whole life to selfless caring of those in need? She was no other than Agnesë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, better known to the world as "Mother Teresa".
In Mother Teresa's life, she had offered kindness, selfless-caring and endless sacrifices to those in need.
During the course of her work she was very much hands on in helping those who faced hardship and suffering.
In her life, Mother Teresa will always cross path with those living in despair and at the edge of hopelessness.
She was particularly surrounded by poverty, sick and dying as destine by her life. Mother Teresa was only destined to bring some warm, comfort and dignity to those who were sick and dying but were unable to change their life.
It was not in her power to do what some of her critics had said, like David Scott, who wrote that Mother Teresa limited herself to only keeping people alive rather than tackling poverty itself.
Mother Teresa has been admired and praise for what she had done.
Her work also had attracted the like-minded, those who shared her vision and ideal to join her course.
The nuns and priests were her sisters and brothers and the missionary where she worked was her home.
In her life, Mother Teresa also crossed path with those who
were powerful, high official as well as autocratic and the corrupt. These people had donated to Mother Teresa's Missionary of Charity.
Sighting cases that she had been criticized e.g. Mother Teresa accepted 10donations from the autocratic and corrupt Duvalier family in Haiti, and openly praised them.
She also accepted 1.4 million dollars from Charles Keating, involved in the fraud and corruption scheme known as the Keating Five scandal, and supported him before and after his arrest. The Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles, Paul Turley, wrote to Mother Teresa asking her to return the donated money to the people Keating had stolen from, one of whom was "a poor carpenter".
The donated money was not accounted for, and Turley did not receive a reply. Mother Teresa had no qualm in accepting charity from those who were corrupted to achieve her course.
Mother Teresa was globally recognized by the world and honoured by both governments and civilian organizations for her humanitarian services render to the people at large.
Pope John XXIII Peace Prize in 1971, Albert Schweitzer International Prize in 1975 and Order of Merit in 1983, just to name a few of the awards that granted to Mother Teresa for her work, charity and efforts of peace.
Through her work she had brought awareness on humanity and peace to the people around the world.
Mother Teresa passed away on 5 September 1997 after stepping down from the head of Missionaries of Charity on 13 March 1997.
Towards the end of her life, Mother Teresa attracted some negative attention in the Western media.
Christopher Hitchens, one of her most active critics, was commissioned to co-write and narrate the documentary Hell's Angel about her for the British Channel 4.
He also written a book named "The Missionary Position" criticizing Mother Teresa in 1995. However, the criticism would not overshadow Mother Teresa as an icon of humanity and peace as well as eclipse her work and contribution to the society.
