Every day, around the world, nuns, missionaries, aid workers, and volunteers roll up their sleeves and do the quiet work of caring for the hungry, the sick, the lonely, and the forgotten. So, how did one woman — Mother Teresa — rise to become a symbol of compassion recognized in nearly every corner of the world?
It’s not because she worked harder or longer than others. It’s because her story was told.
A Life of Service — Seen
In 1969, British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge produced a documentary for the BBC titled Something Beautiful for God. It featured a petite woman in a white sari with blue stripes, serving the dying in the streets of Calcutta. And that story—that image—spread.
That broadcast became the turning point in Mother Teresa’s global visibility. Muggeridge didn’t invent her story. He saw it, captured it, and shared it in a way that connected deeply with audiences around the world.
The work mattered. The storytelling multiplied it.
As someone who’s spent a lifetime teaching and doing storytelling for nonprofits and missionaries, I want to point something out to both sides of the equation:
To Those Doing the Work — Missionaries, Humanitarians, Volunteers:
You’re often so busy doing the work that you don’t think to document it. But stories build bridges. They raise support. They inspire others to act. If you believe your work matters, then helping others see it isn’t vanity — it’s vision.
You don’t have to be Mother Teresa. But you do have to let someone in close enough to witness the transformation happening every day around you.
Once her story reached a global audience—especially through Malcolm Muggeridge’s documentary and later the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979—the response was overwhelming. Donations skyrocketed. Volunteers and staff joined from across the world. The Missionaries of Charity, which began with just a few sisters, has grown into a global movement. While exact fundraising numbers are hard to pin down, the visibility brought by storytelling led to tens of millions of dollars in financial support over the years. That funding didn’t just sustain the work — it multiplied it. Schools, orphanages, hospices, and homes for the dying were built in places that might never have known the name “Mother Teresa” if not for the power of a story well told.
To Those Telling the Stories — Writers, Photographers, Videographers, Producers:
We are not the heroes. But we are the multipliers. Muggeridge’s film didn’t feed the hungry or clean wounds — but it turned a nun in a Calcutta alley into a global voice for the voiceless. That’s the power of a well-told story.
When we approach our work with humility, accuracy, and a heart, we amplify the reach of those already pouring their lives out in service.
Other Icons of Service That Rose Through Storytelling:
- Martin Luther King Jr. – His message was powerful, but it was his speeches, media coverage, and iconic photographs that seared his story into global memory.
- Princess Diana – Her work with AIDS patients and landmine victims gained traction because she brought the cameras with her, humanizing marginalized people.
- Fred Rogers – “Mr. Rogers” used television to quietly but powerfully advocate for the emotional and moral care of children.
- Bryan Stevenson – The founder of the Equal Justice Initiative has been doing life-changing legal work for decades, but books like Just Mercy and its film adaptation brought that work to the masses.
- Greta Thunberg – A teenage girl with a sign started a movement, but it was the stories — photos, interviews, and headlines — that made her a global icon.
The Lesson for All of Us
You can be in the trenches — feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, visiting the imprisoned — but if no one ever sees or hears those stories, your impact might stay small.
It was the combination of action and storytelling — faithfulness on the ground, and someone with the tools to share that faithfully — that made Mother Teresa an icon.
Her life reminds us that great stories aren’t created, they’re discovered. And it’s our job, as storytellers, to go looking.