For Sisters of Mother Teresa, disabled not “vegetables” but “wealth” for humanity

(Feb. 11, 2009):- The World Day of the Sick, Wednesday, 11 February, was celebrated by the Missionaries of Charity, in a normal way, said Sister M. Infanta who looks after “Asha Daan House” in Mumbai, in India’s western coastal State of Maharashtra. The centre, founded in 1976 by Mother Teresa of Kolkata, takes care of abandoned, or physically and mentally disabled children, as well as AIDS patients. They also help the dying, who are neglected by their families, to leave this world with dignity. Sr. Infanta said the nuns have devoted their life to the service of others. We give what a human life deserves “love, respect and dignity”.
For the Missionaries of Charity, the "disabled are not vegetables but wealth for Humanity", she said, and added on the World Day of the Sick, we continued with our daily routine, that is not only one of suffering but also one based on love and sharing between the nuns and the centre’s residents. She explained that “In Asha Daan there are about a hundred children of 3 to 15 years, and 83 of them are physically or mentally handicapped. “Each life ought to be lived,” Sr Infanta said, even if it does not meet utilitarian criteria, or is not “productive” according to today’s models.
Sr. Infanta, who has been in the Missionaries of Charity for the past 40 years recalled the words of Bl. Mother Teresa :- “Show tenderness and a happy smile. Don’t just treat people; offer your heart as well.”