After working 27 years as a speech therapist and educational consultant in New Jersey schools, Rosalie Giffoniello spent the summer of 1999 in Kolkata (Calcutta) India, inspired by the humanitarian work of Mother Teresa.  There she donated her professional services to one of Mother Teresa's homes, an orphanage for physically and mentally challenged children.

She was shocked by what she found.  While the children were clean and well fed, they were left to lie all day on the floor or in their cribs, without any toys or meaningful stimulation, leading them to engage in autistic-like behaviors.  Rosalie immediately recognized that these children needed educational and physical therapy programs to enrich their lives.  She spent two months at the orphanage teaching many of them how to walk, to feed themselves and dress themselves.