An Post (Ireland Post) celebrated the great International Humanitarian of Mother Teresa and Henry Dunant by issuing a set of two stamps depicts the both figures respectively on June 17, 2010. These stamps were designed by Ger Garland .
The 55c stamp shown Mother Teresa set against the Missionary of Charity in Calcutta. Mother Teresa was born Agnese Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in modern-day Macedonia, on August 26, 1910. Moved by the desire to become a missionary, she left home at the age of 18 and travelled to the Loreto Abbey in Rathfarnham, Dublin. While there, she studied English so se could teach the children of India with the Sisters of Loreto.
She moved to Calcutta and founded the Missionary of Charity in 1950. For over forty years, she dedicated her life to helping the poor. sick, orphaned and dying for which she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. After her death in 1997, the process of beatification began and in 2003 she had the title 'Blessed’ bestowed on her.
The Missionaries of Charity at the time of her death had 610 missions in 123 countries including hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis, soup kitchens, children's and family counselling programmes, orphanages and schools.
This stamp show Henry Dunant with the Battle of Solferino in the background. Henry Dunant was born in Geneva in 1828. He was a Swiss businessman, social activist and founder of the Red Cross.
During a business trip in 1859, he witnessed 40,000 soldiers lying or dying as result of the Battle of Solferino. He organized the civilian population to provide assistance to the injured soldiers. He developed an idea for a neutral organization that would exist to provide care to wounded soldiers and distributed it to many leading political and military figures in Europe.
Due to ill health, he was moved to a hospice in 1892 where he died in 1910. Although unable to attend, in 1901 he won the first ever Nobel Peace Prize for his role in founding the International Committee of the red Cross (ICRC). (Sources: Ireland Post Bulletin News.)
