Missionaries of Charity was to care for (in Mother Teresa's words) "the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone." It began as a small community with 12 members in Calcutta (now Kolkata), and today it has over 4,500 Sisters running orphanages, home for those dying of AIDS, charity centres worldwide, and caring for refugees, the blind, disabled, aged, alcoholics, the poor and homeless and victims of floods, epidemics and famine in Asia, Africa, Latin
Nirmala (sect) established with grants from the rulers of Phulkian states, has the highest status among all Nirmala chapters. Other major Nirmala centres are located at Haridwar, Allahabad, Ujjain, Trimbak, Kurukshetra and Patna. Nirmala (sect) Nirmala (Punjabi: ਨਿਰਮਲੇ) is an Indian religious sect of ascetics who interpret the Sikh philosophy in Vedantic terms. They variously claim to have originated during the period of Guru Nanak (15th-16th century) or Guru Gobind Singh (17th century). The origin of the Nirmalas is uncertain: the sect is first mentioned in the Sikh literature towards the end of the 18th century. In the 19th century, some Nirmala