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For many in the Catholic faith, Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, known as ‘Mother Theresa’ (1910–1997), a Roman Catholic nun who devoted her life to serving the poor and destitute around the world. Mother Theresa, an Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary, was later honoured by the Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta.
However, the story of Jesus Girls International Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) like that of Mother Theresa, shares the vision of reducing poverty among vulnerable children and women, especially persons living with disabilities (PWDs).
“Mother Theresa is one of my mentors and there is no particular preference for why it must be here. I was here for my birthday; came with my family and few of my friends, and I did promise them that as a group we are going to come again,” said Sarah Godfrey Emmanuel, the president of Jesus Girls International.
In commemoration of Easter, the group visited Mother Theresa Orphanage Home to celebrate and spread the love of Christ with the less privileged.“All we seek to do is to cloth and make that impact – this is the Easter period: the true essence of Easter is love. For love he came and died; and that is what makes Christianity different from other religion.
“Christianity is not a religion as it were; Jesus emptied himself of all but love; that through him the world might be saved. And he said when I was sick, you visited me; for those who did that, there are rewards in whatever we do – Life is all about impact,” Sarah said.
According to Sarah, Jesus Girls are ambassadors of Christ and had brought emotional healing to the orphanage. “We are to be ambassadors of Christ; everywhere Jesus went he did good – our coming here as you saw brought hope, it brought joy, it brought encouragement; which was what Jesus stood for. We brought food items, clothing, but most importantly we brought emotional healing, which money can’t buy,” said Sarah stating that the group seek to do something that will last a while.
Mother Theresa Orphanage depict the colour and beauty of children who daily seek to connect with the outside world, with hope and love that radiate beyond the physical. “When we came in those children were happy, when we were about moving out; some of the children refused to lift their head because they want to connect with the world out there, they want to feel belong, and a lot of them have questions in their heart, while some are going through what they did not know about,” she stated.
However, Sarah opined that the group, which is currently in 10 states in Nigeria, 8 countries and still spreading, seek for collaboration with people that have the heart; “we are not asking for cash – if you are ready, this is it launch in,” said Sarah stating, “for us, it is a win-win, and we are happy to be here”.
SEYI JOHN SALAU
