Today in history: Mother Teresa visits SA for the first time
Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and in 1980, she received the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honour in India for her humanitarian work.
When Mother Teresa visited South Africa on 7 November 1988 for the first time, she founded a mission of the order in Khayelitsha, which was to serve as a home for HIV/ AIDS sufferers.
She received permission from the Holy See in 1950 to establish her own order, called the Missionaries of Charity.
The aim of the order was to care for orphans and to establish homes for people suffering from leprosy, HIV/ AIDS and tuberculosis.
Mother Teresa was born in Albania and at a young age felt compelled to care for the sick and poor.
When she was 18 years old, she left home and joined the Loreto sisters, an Irish community of nuns, working in India.
Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and in 1980, she received the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honour in India for her humanitarian work.
Currently the Missionaries of Charity operates in 120 countries, with 600 missions helping the needy.
Information sourced from: South African History Online.
