About the author
Hannelore Angela Benjamin was a German writer of children's stories, articles and bulletins, who lived in Alexandria, Virginia. For 21 years she served in Rome, Italy, as Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Program (WFP) and the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) of the United Nations and as Ambassador to the Republic of Italy on behalf of the Commonwealth of Dominica. The "Nature Island of the Caribbean", as it is known, was the birthplace of her late husband, Ambassador Dr. McDonald P. Benjamin, who was her mentor and best friend and with whom she had two children, McDonald Jr. and Sandra, who were the joy of her life. Before serving as Ambassador, she was the President of the United Nations Women's Guild (UNWG) in Rome, Italy, where her work on behalf of poor children around the world earned her the Mother Teresa medal during the United Nations International Year of Disabled Persons in 1981. It is during her time as the President of the UNWG that she met Mother Teresa on a flight to Rome. That fortuitous encounter led to an unforgettable friendship that transcended time itself.