‘Serve to Change Lives’, Rotary International theme for the year 2021-22 is a reminder to Rotaractors as well as all humankind to care and lend a hand to others to light their lives up while building our own.

The Official Blog of RACUSJ is initiating a new article series to motivate everyone by bringing the life stories of the change-makers who are loved all over the world for their enormous services and are remaining in the spotlight over many years for their unwavering commitment towards the neediest.

The first volume of the article series unveils with the commemoration of Mother Teresa: The Saint of the Gutters.

As we all know, Mother Teresa was popular for her humanitarian work among the poor families who lived on the streets of Calcutta. Mother Teresa provided a wide range of humanitarian services to impoverished residents in need, including medical care, education, and necessities such as clothing.

Her forename was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. This magnificent messenger of God’s love saw the first light on the 26^th of August, 1910, in Skopje, a city at the crossroads of Balkan history.

Agnes was the youngest of five children born to Nikola and Dranafile Bojaxhiu, but only she and two other siblings survived. Despite the fact that she eventually lived and worked with underprivileged civilians in Calcutta, thanks to her father’s successful construction business, her family was quite wealthy.

She felt a strong call from God when she was twelve years old. She realized she had to be a missionary to spread Christ’s love. At the age of eighteen, she left her parental home in Skopje to join the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns with missions in India.

After taking her initial vows as a nun, Mother Teresa taught at St. Mary’s High School in Calcutta, a leading school of students from wealthy families. Nevertheless, the misery and poverty she witnessed outside the convent walls got her thinking hard about how everybody is not blessed equally by God, which is why she became involved in humanitarian aid to others while she was there.

On the 17th of August in 1948, she donned a white, blue-bordered sari for the first time and entered the world of the poor through the gates of her beloved Loreto convent. Teaching slum children to read and write with sticks and dirt as writing materials was her starting move in the journey of becoming a humanitarian.

Of course, she did not fail to pay daily visits to poor families and sick citizens to know and understand their needs and see how she could lend a hand to them. She had no funds at first, therefore; she only had to rely on Divine Providence. Volunteer groups soon joined her and financial assistance was forthcoming. This enabled her to broaden the scope of her work.

Mother Teresa received permission from the Holy See on the 7^th of October in 1950, to establish her own order, “The Missionaries of Charity,” whose main objective was to love and support for those whom no one else was willing to look after. Today, the order does indeed have Active and Contemplative Sisters and Brothers in many countries.

The Society of Missionaries has spread throughout the world, providing effective assistance to the poorest of the poor in several countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, as well as rescue operations in the aftermath of natural disasters such as floods, epidemics, and mass starvation, as well as for refugees.

Her inspiration, however, was not limited to those pursuing religious vocations. The order also has homes in North America, Europe, and Australia where they care for the sick, alcoholics, homeless, and AIDS patients.

Noted for her charity, selflessness, and courage, as well as her hard work and dedication and a real charisma for organization, she lived out her consecration to Jesus with fidelity and sheer delight in the midst of her companions. During the years of development, the world’s attention was drawn to Mother Teresa and the work she had commenced.

Countless awards, including the Indian Padmashri Award in 1962 and, most prominently, the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, was bestowed upon her work, and an increasingly interested media began to follow her activities. She received both awards and attention “in the name of God and the poor.”

Mother Teresa’s earthly life came to an end on 5th September 1997. The Government of India accorded her a state funeral, and her body was buried at the Missionaries of Charity’s Mother House, which soon became a pilgrimage and prayer destination for people of different faiths, rich and poor alike.

Mother Teresa’s Cause of Canonization was opened less than two years after her death due to her widespread reputation for holiness and the reported favors. He approved the decrees of her heroic virtues and miracles on 20th December 2002. On 19th October 2003, Pope John Paul II coronated her. The blessing requisite for her canonization was approved on 17th December 2015, and she was canonized on 4th September 2016 by Pope Francis.

Mother Teresa left a legacy of unwavering faith and hope and extraordinary charity. Her response to Jesus’s invitation to “Come be My light” transformed her into a Missionary of Charity, a “Mother to the poor,” a symbol of compassion to the world, and a living witness to God’s thirsting love.

Mother Teresa’s entire life and work bore witness to the joy of loving, the greatness and dignity of every human being, the importance of small things done faithfully and with love, and the immeasurable value of friendship with God.

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” was one of her famous sayings that she showed us with her actions.

As Rotaractors let us be the ones in this era who cast stones to create the ripple to make positive changes in the world starting from the little steps. Because,

If not us, then who?

Written by Rtr.Hasini Amanda