I was born in Calcutta, India but came to the US when I was less than 1. I always knew that Mother Theresa lived close to my grandparents’ house but admired her from afar (read about her, wrote book reports in elementary school, etc).
The summer after graduating from high school my parents planned a family trip back to Calcutta for the summer. I decided to reach out and wrote a letter to her organization - Missionaries of Charity - saying I was going to visit and wanted to volunteer in her orphanage if possible. Within a month I received a signed letter from her saying they would welcome any help I could give.
High school graduation came and went. Soon after arriving in India I went to the Missionary for visiting hours. I had been told that Mother Theresa came out everyday, but honestly thought that was an urban myth. I was standing there listening to evening prayer when all of a sudden she walked in. Physically she was one of the smallest people I have ever seen, but there was an aura about her presence. She made her way around the room, saying hello to many people and chatting with them in detail about their health. It was clear to me that some of them came multiple times a week, and that she cared enough to know the intricacies of their conditions. When she came around to me, I said hello and she took my hands in hers. I am not an overly religious person, but when I touched her I felt like I was touching God. She was always smiling and had a tender nature to her demeanor. It is something I can’t really describe, but also something I’ll never forget.
I came back the next morning to start my volunteer work. When asked where they needed the most help, the nuns at the mission told me that everyone wanted to work with disabled children, but they needed the most help with the healthy ones. When I walked in the door the first thing I saw was a child come up to me with an eye missing from one socket. It was clearly jarring to see...I had never been around someone with this condition, but at the same time did not want to register the shock I was feeling inside. I had clearly shown up at the wrong wing. But once the nuns saw I was there, they asked me to stay, so I did.
I was with them for a month, and fell in love with these young children (most newborns up to 4). My absolute favorite was a little boy who either had a stroke or was crippled on half of his body. Every morning when I walked in he would pull me down to give me a kiss on the cheek. We would sit and play, eat, and just talk. I wanted more than anything to bring him home with me, but I was just about to start college and in no position to be taking care of another human being. I still wonder to this day what happened to him, hoping he is still as joyful as he was then.
Mother Theresa died at the beginning of my sophomore year in college, and though it was a huge loss for the world, I know she is still smiling down on us. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been in such presence of greatness, but most humbling is how simply she lived her life in service of others. When I think about those children, at first I felt sad that they had no parents and were living in an orphanage. But by the end of my time there I realized that they were happy: they had a roof over their heads, food to eat, and people who loved and cared for them deeply.
It’s hard to believe that it has been almost 20 years since that summer, but I remember it like it was yesterday. It taught me about the power of humanity, and that all of us can make a difference no matter what our background is. In fact, we not only have an obligation to our own people, but moreover should strive to be your best self because there are others who are less fortunate and probably more grateful for the small things they do have than want of what they don’t.
In large part because of my experience I am able to hold my head high, treat others with respect, absorb as much knowledge around me as possible, and help others to achieve their goals. Thank you Mother Theresa for being an ultimate Woman Who Reigns.
