Volunteering changed my life. In my 20s, I was backpacking in the Himalayas when a fellow hiker suggested that if I wanted to extend my travels (I did) I should go to Calcutta. ‘You can help at Mother Teresa’s,’ she said.
The nun, who devoted her life to serving the poor, was a global figure of compassion, and I spent three months at her orphanage, helping with the day-to-day care of infants who were starved of afection. The poverty I witnessed, the kindness and beautiful open-heartedness of the sisters and the friendliness of my fellow volunteers, who came from all over the world, left a deep impression on me. One day, I even received an impromptu blessing from Mother Teresa who, of course, became a saint. In my wildest dreams, I could never have imagined that my overseas adventure would yield such an extraordinary experience.