International Day of Charity September 5th 2023
International Day of Charity September 5th 2023 - Raising awareness about the virtues of charity and the issues it can help resolve.
This day was inaugurated by the UN in 2012 and aims to raise awareness about the importance of charity, volunteering and philanthropy. Coinciding with the anniversary of Mother Theresa’s death, this is a day to celebrate the impact that charitable work can have on alleviating poverty, responding to crises and supplementing public services.
International Day of Charity started in Hungary as a way for the Hungarian Civil Society to enhance visibility, organise charitable events and raise public support for charity.
The day 5th September was chosen to commemorate the passing of Mother Teresa. She was known for her dedication to charitable work and gave her life to helping others and overcoming poverty, suffering and distress. Teaching children about the work of Mother Teresa is one way of recognising the importance of the day.
The day was officially declared by the United Nations in 2012 and is part of their 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, which recognises the barriers that poverty places on international development. By encouraging social responsibility on 5th September, we will better understand the needs of the most vulnerable to help the international community move forward.
Mother Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu was born on August 26, 1910, in the Ottoman Empire, and would go on to commit herself to religious life by age 12. She had always been fascinated by missionaries, particularly those in India, and left home at 18 to learn English and become a missionary in Ireland. She later moved on to India, where she learned Bengali and took religious vows to become a Catholic nun.
Her charitable work truly began in 1948, when she adopted Indian citizenship and worked with the poorest individuals in the country. In the coming years, she opened several hospices, established a congregation, and instituted leper houses and orphanages. Her congregation attracted many recruits and donors and went on to found many branches of her charitable organization that took her good work across the globe.
Mother Teresa, who died in 1997 after 45 dedicated years of charitable service, is remembered as a woman of great faith and unmatched charitable donation. In fact, she left such a legacy that the Hungarian Parliament and Government established International Day of Charity in her honor in 2011. They chose September 5, the anniversary of her death, to commemorate her life with their civil service initiative.
The United Nations quickly picked up on this holiday, and by 2012 it was spread worldwide. The UN established it to recognize the charitable works of all organizations, including the work of Mother Teresa, and to highlight the power of charity in alleviating humanitarian crises and human suffering. Critical goals established by the UN help guide the charitable works we should engage in – these are people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership.
Source:Global Dimention National Today