Who is this?

1. Who is this? • She was not rich or glamorous, yet royalty and world leaders enjoyed visiting her and were proud to receive visits from her • Some people believed she 'became the most powerful woman in the world.' This was because when she asked to see or speak to presidents or prime ministers around the world, she was often put straight through. • They listened to what she had to say and had great respect for her work among the poor.

2. Learning Objectives • To know the story of Mother Teresa • To look at how her beliefs affected her actions.

3. In pairs fill in the worksheet with information from the ppt and video clips • Who • What • Where • When • Why

4. Her Life in brief! • Mother Theresa was born in Albania in 1910. • Her real name was Agnes Gonxha and she had a younger brother and sister. • Religion was very important to Mother Theresa and her family, she was a Roman Catholic. • She remembers her mother always telling her, to love God and her neighbours. • She took a great interest in helping out in her church and was particularly interested in the missionaries working in India.

5. Continued……… • At the age of 12 she felt that God was calling her to be a nun. • She had to wait 6 years until she was 18, before she could become a nun. • In 1928, when she was only 18 Agnes travelled to Loreto Abbey in Ireland to learn English and begin her life as a Loreto nun. • After two months in Ireland she moved over to India to live in the Loreto convent over there.

7. Her Vows • When she was 21, Agnes took her first vows. • When she took her vows, she gave up the life she could have lived as Agnes GonxhaBojaxhiu. • She needed a new name for her new life, so she adopted the religious name Teresa.

8. Her life helping the poor • Mother Theresa began teaching Geography at one of the Loreto schools. • She loved her job, but couldn’t stop thinking about the poor people outside of the school walls. • Whenever she had time, she visited the slums with medicines and gifts.

9. This is a slum...Imagine you are there... What can you see? What can you hear? What does it smell like? How do you feel?

10. Day of inspiration • On 10th September 1946 after 17 happy years as a Loreto Sister her life suddenly changed. Sister Teresa thought she heard the voice of God, she always remembered it as her 'day of inspiration'. • God spoke to her and told her she must work with the poor in the slums. • When she returned she asked permission from the Nuns. They said it was too dangerous and refused. • It would be two years later until she would be given the decision she wanted.

11. How it started…. • Mother Theresa gave up her convent habit and dressed like a poor Indian woman. • She realised that she would need medical skills to help the poor and spent four months on a short nursing course.

12. Life in the Slums • Mother Theresa was shocked when she first entered the slums. • Many people had no homes; the lucky ones lived under old sacks. • Many had only rags to wear, hunger and disease were everywhere. • There were constant disgusting smells of rotting garbage and sickness. • Old or sick people were left on the streets to die, eaten by rats and insects. Unwanted babies were thrown onto rubbish heaps.

13. What she did……… • She had just 5 rupees (about 30p) in her pocket when she went into the slums. She began by starting a school on the street. She used the dusty ground as her blackboard and a stick as her chalk. When people heard what she was doing they sent gifts for her school. • Next she started a dispensary, handing out bandages, medicines and food, given to her by people who wanted to help.

14. The Pope The Pope was so impressed with the work of Sister Teresa and her helpers that on 7th October 1950, he gave her permission to start a new order of nuns. She called her order 'The Congregation of the Missionaries of Charity.' As the leader of this new order Sister Teresa became Mother Teresa.

15. The order of Nuns • The nuns lead a very simple life. They have very few possessions: Three saris, a pair of sandals, underwear, a crucifix, a bucket to wash in and a prayer book. • Each morning the nuns wake up at 4:30 a.m. to pray before going out to work in the slums. Some teach the children, some work with the sick, the dying or those suffering from leprosy. Others collect prepare and give out food. Mother Teresa worked alongside the other nuns not expecting them to do anything she would not do herself.

16. World leaders took note • Mother Theresa and her sisters helped the people of Calcutta unconditionally. • As the years went on the work Mother Theresa was doing began to be noticed by leaders all over the world. • In 1979, Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. When she heard the news she replied 'I accept this award in the name of the poor.'

17. IN HER OWN WORDS MOTHER TERESA “Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.”

18. September 5th 1997 • On September 5th 1997, Mother Teresa died. All her life she had been inspired by Jesus' words 'Love one another as I have loved you.' These words are carved on her grave. Almost half a million people of all religions came to say a final goodbye.

19. “At the end of our lives, we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made or how many great things we have done. We will be judged by ‘I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless and you took me in.’” ’”

20. Answer the following question. • Explain, with examples from the life of Mother Teresa, how she put Christian love into action.

21. Homework Complete the Facebook Profile on Mother Teresa