MOTHER TERESA

Mother Teresa was a nun and a charity worker in India who founded Missionaries of Charity. They run hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis; soup kitchens; children's and family counseling programmes; orphanages; and schools.

She was born on August 26, 1910 as Agnes Bojaxhiu in Albania. She died on September 5, 1997 in Calcutta, India. By age 12 she was convinced that she should commit herself to a religious life. She left home at age 18 to join the Sisters of Loreto as a missionary. She arrived in India in 1929 and started teaching at St. Teresa’s School, a schoolhouse close to her convent.

By 2007 the Missionaries of Charity numbered approximately 450 brothers and 5,000 sisters worldwide, operating 600 missions, schools and shelters in 120 countries.

She received various awards in recognition of her work. In 1962, Mother Teresa received the Philippines-based Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding, given for work in South or East Asia. In 1979, Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, "for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress.” India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, in 1980.

Helping hands are better than praying lips