Rome’s slums were also known for their distinctive architecture. Shelters
known as barraca,a kind of barracks-like structure, sprawled for acres in
the city’s slums. The homes were also distinguished by their bright orange
terra-cotta roofs, which were secured by heavy stones. Many of these
homes lacked electricity, water, and sewage, though some enterprising
souls were able to tap into the city’s electrical power source to light their
homes. Some families also planted small gardens near their homes, which,
in addition to supplementing their diets, alleviated the barren and harsh
landscape of poverty with a wondrous riot of color.
Initial attempts to find a house for the order were futile; there appeared
to be nothing for them. Finally, Mother Teresa found a barracche.It was by
far the poorest and shabbiest residence that the sisters had resided in,
something that appealed to Mother Teresa a great deal. With the excep-
tion of the house being wired for electricity, the residence was from all ap-
pearances no different from the others. There was no plumbing; the nuns
would have to make do with the nearby fountain from which residents
drew their water. In time, the Missionaries of Charity instituted many of
the same programs for the poor of Rome that they provided elsewhere.
A GROWING MISSION
Over the next several years, Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of
Charity continued to open new homes around the world. In 1967, the
order opened its first home in Sri Lanka. In September 1968, a month
after traveling to Rome, Mother Teresa journeyed to Tabora, Tanzania,
where the sisters opened their first mission in Africa. A year later, the
Missionaries of Charity were in Australia, where they opened up a center
for the Aborigines. From this point on and well into the next decade, a
new mission center opened somewhere in the world approximately every
six months.
The Missionaries of Charity were growing in other ways, too. By 1963,
Mother Teresa realized that men were better suited for certain kinds of
work, such as working with young boys, than her nuns were. After con-
sulting with Father Van Exem, she petitioned the archbishop of Calcutta
for his permission to create a new branch of the order: the Missionary
Brothers of Charity. The archbishop did not have to think very long; al-
most immediately he agreed to the request.
But there were issues to settle before the new order could get underway.
Men were reluctant to join because the order was still unrecognized. To
become recognized meant that the order needed to grow and have the
proper leadership to provide guidance and direction. Even though the98 MOTHER TERESA