The State of West Bengal granted the plot under a law on equitable land development. Some 5,000 people live in Motijheel slum where Christians, Muslims and Hindus maintain harmony. Some older residents remember Mother Teresa's presence at a local school.
Kolkata (AsiaNews) – The Indian State of West Bengal has handed a plot of land over to the Missionaries of Charity in Motijhil, a slum area where Mother Teresa began her work of service to the poor in 1948.
Sister Mary Joseph, superior general of the congregation, made the announcement at an event at the local school.
The land was handed over to the nuns last month under the West Bengal Thika Tenancy (Acquisition and Regulation) Act, a 2001 law adopted to promote the “development and equitable utilization of such lands.”
Last Sunday, the Sisters celebrated the event at the Nirmal Hriday (Immaculate Heart) School in Motijheel.
“Seventy-five years ago, Mother Teresa came here and started her great work, which has gone all around the world," said MP Derek O'Biren, who helped the Sisters obtain the land.
Pupils and children were accompanied by the four nuns who now run the school, Sisters Olive, Blaisy, Mohini and Ganza. The missionaries offer educational support but also tailoring courses for women.
“Giving us the land is a beautiful gesture by the government to help us serve the poor; to serve the poor, one must be a part of the lives of the poor and share in their hardship,” said Superior General Mary Joseph, who served at Nirmal Hriday School from 2016 to 2019.
The poor “have no water, they have poor toilet facilities, and their living space is limited. Yet they radiate hope despite living in such conditions,” she explained.
Some 5,000 people live in Motijheel – Christians, Muslims, and Hindus – managing to maintain harmony, helping each other.
“I was five years old when Mother [Teresa] first came here. When I started attending the school here, Mother taught my classes,” said resident Bhanik Singh.
In the 1940s Mother Teresa was a teacher at the Loreto Convent School in Entally, a neighbourhood in central Kolkata. At the time and for 20 years, she was a member of the Sisters of Loreto. It was her habit to look out of a school window to see how people lived in the Motijheel slum.
In December 1948 she wandered into the slum; only later, after convincing some Sisters and the archbishop of Calcutta, she received permission from the Holy See to leave the convent to put herself at the service of the "poorest of the poor".