baskets, which are used in the nearby coal mines. There is even a printing
press. Shantinagar also has its own local government with its leaders
elected from among the residents. Medical treatment is not far away, and
with the advent of better drugs since the 1970s, many lepers had a chance
to recover from their illness. There is also a Shishu Bhavan on the prem-
ises, where children can live and be protected from the more infectious
patients.
With each new success and each new undertaking, it was becoming
clear that Mother Teresa possessed extraordinary vision. She was making
a name for herself, not only throughout Calcutta, but in India and be-
yond. Her great determination to help those who could not help them-
selves had earned her a host of supporters and a growing number of critics.
As the size and scale of the Missionaries of Charity grew, so did the seeds
of controversy. By the end of the 1950s, it was clear that Mother Teresa
and her order would no longer toil in anonymity.
NOTES
- Mother Teresa with Jaya Chaliha and Edward Le Joly, The Joy in Loving: A
Guide to Daily Living(New York: Viking, 1996), p. 327. - Mother Teresa with Chaliha and Le Joly, Joy,p. 371.
SHISHU BHAVAN AND SHANTINAGAR 89