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Background: Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was born in Skopje, Yugoslavia in 1910 and joined a religious order at the age of 28. For almost the next 70 years she would devote her time to those who most people ignore. The irony of her life's work could be the world wide attention that grew from her selfless acts, when, in fact, she devoted herself to helping the poor and dying because she saw it as God's work and nothing more. The world saw it differently. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 after Pope John XXIII gave her the peace prize in 1971 and India's Jawaharlal Nehru bestowed the international understanding award in 1972. The "Saint of the Gutters" had moved her sphere of influence far beyond the gutters of Calcutta, India. Mother Teresa took that name after joining the religious order which became her life. She was sent to India and began a teaching career. The Catholic Church granted her a leave from the convent in 1948 so she could work among the poor and dying in the most disadvantaged areas of Calcutta. She founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 to provide food for the needy and to operate hospitals, schools, orphanages, youth centers, and shelters for lepers and the dying poor. Today there are branches in over 50 Indian cities and more than 30 other countries. Mother Teresa's original mission, called Nirmal Hriday meaning "the place of the pure heart", has seen over 65,000 people in the last 30 years and few have left alive. She truly believed that human beings should be treated as such even though dying destitute and terribly ill. This saint allowed them to die with dignity and love from other humans. "Heaven is found by serving the lowliest" is how Mother Teresa lived her life. When asked who would take her place at the Missionaries of Charity, she replied, "the world will understand that it is not my work. It is God's. It will go on".
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