I was not yet born when some of the things I captured here happened. But does it really matter? It gives me unbridled joy to read about these legends " men and women who touched many lives in many different ways. Great or small, only God has the accurate yardstick. All that matters is that they did it. And willingly too, even when it held pains for them, even when their lives were threatened by the very deeds they chose to do and kept doing. And all these were and still remain till date, to the glory of God. I call them Icons of Charity. What you may call them depends on you. But I know that their good deeds have touched the world in many positive ways. 'Emulation is better than jealousy,‘ I heard from a singer. I believe him. We can do more than these, only if and when we choose to. I welcome you to my little book of love, Icons of Charity. This is not an expressly creative work. I dare call it a documentary. And in this light I accept responsibility for all errors, omissions, etc. that may have occurred.
Mike E. Chukwu
Agnes Gogsha Gonxha Bojaxhiu was born in the town of Skopje in Yugoslavia (presently in Macedonia) on 26 August 1910, to Albanian parents. The youngest of three children, she grew up in the midst of poverty and war.
Deciding to become a nun after she completed her studies in Yugoslavia at 18, she joined Loreto Convent in Ireland on September 26, 1928, and there, she took the name Sister Teresa. She arrived in India in 1929 as a member of the Loreto Convent.
In 1931, she made her first vows and thereafter, taught as a teacher and nun for sixteen years at St. Mary‘s School, Entally, Kolkata. In 1937, she made her final commitment to God.
Thus began her journey into the demanding but neglected land of charity, mercy and love. On 16 August, 1948, she was permitted to leave Loreto Convent, and she moved to the slums of Kolkata
This great woman abandoned her life, her family, relations, etc., and stuck to her divine call with a tremendous spirit and physical display of zeal, dedication, commitment and love for God, which she always taught. After taking Indian citizenship in 1949, she lived the rest of her days in Kolkata, from where she reached out to the poor and the afflicted throughout the world.
Her efforts in living the love of Christ paid off greatly as she founded the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata, in October 7, 1950, opened Nirmal Hriday (Pure Heart) home for the dying in 1952, Shishu Bhavan (Children’s Home) " a home that saw to the ease of the plight of poor children " in 1955, as well as many other such homes and more than 125 leprosy centres around the world. At Shishu Bhavan, crippled and abandoned children are looked after permanently with love and care.
Mother Teresa received honourary US citizenship in November 1996. Her book A Simple Path was published in 1995. Her career and journey of life was not without trauma many of which she survived. She had the priviledge of receiving Pope John Paul II in Kolkata and some remarked of her, “Mother Teresa is truly the Queen of Kolkata. Everyone obeys her, even the Pope.”
On September 5, 1997, the world virtually stood still when Mother Teresa passed away due to cardiac arrest, aged 87. Time virtually stood still for this "Queen of the Poor," "Angel of Mercy," and "Mother of the Oppressed," on September 13, 1997 when her body was raised onto the gun carriage (the same carriage that bore the mortal remains of Mahatma Gandhi, about 50 years before, and later, the body of Jawaharlal Nehru) by eight pall bearers of the Army‘s Rajput Regiment. World leaders and representatives of the Pope were present at her state funeral.
Her greatest message according to Rt. Rev. Henry D‘Souza, the then Archbishop of Kolkata was that 'all human life is precious in whatever condition it is found, "from the womb to the tomb."‘
The mortal remains of this world citizen, par excellence, were laid to rest on September 13, 1997 in the Mother House, 54A, Lower Circular Road, Kolkata. Pope John Paul II began her canonization process in 17 August, 1998, in Rome, and beatified her in October, 2003, also in Rome. Considered one of the greatest humanitarians of all time, she was canonized Saint Teresa of Calcutta on 4 September 2016.
Only God knows when the world will have another Mother Teresa of Kolkata, the “Saint of the Gutters!”
Born 15 January 1929 in Atlanta Georgia, King grew up to become an eloquent black Baptist minister. As a civil rights leader, he led the following non"violent protests and demonstrations in the US:
City – wide boycott of the local transit company in December 1955 (The Montgomery Boycott).
Voter registration drive in Selma, Alabama (1965). This drive was concluded with a ‟freedom march’ of 25,000 people from Selma to Montgomery
“March on Washington” in support of civil rights legislation on August 28, 1963. Some 250,000 Americans of all faiths, races and creed joined him and other civil rights leaders in this unprecedented demonstration of solidarity. It remains the most massive protest demonstration ever to occur in the US and which was in contrast, devoid of violence.
King enunciated a principle from which he never wavered: “We will not resort to violence. We will not degrade ourselves with hatred. Love must be returned for hate.”
While incarcerated, he wrote a celebrated document known as “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” which is a classic expression of his moral philosophy. He delivered the most impressive oration of his career. “I have a dream,” he often said during his fiery speech " a dream of the time when the evils of prejudice and segregation will vanish.
During his speech, he said, “I have a dream that one day, this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.‟ I have a dream that one day; my four little sons will live in a country where they will be judged not by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream that one day, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked will be made straight.” Many of those present openly wept.
King was assassinated on 4 April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee while he talked with his staff on a balcony of Lorraine Motel. The assassin, James Earl Ray was sentenced to 99 years in prison. King was buried near Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta. The following words from a spiritual are carved on his tombstone: “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, I’m free at last.”
