“My religion is humanitarianism… which is the basis of every religion in the world”. Endearing sentiments perfectly expressed by Mr. Edhi, undoubtedly one of the most beloved of philanthropists in the whole wide world.
The city of Bantawa in Gujrat witnessed the birth of this uniquely great man who was christened Abdur Sattar Edhi in 1928. This messenger of humanity grew up in the same city till 1947. Then, he and his family migrated to Karachi, Pakistan.
From a very young age, he was drawn to social work for the unloved and uncared for masses. His dedication to the cause soon led him to open a free dispensary and then eventually to the ‘Edhi Foundation.’ The Foundation started functioning with a mere Rs 5,000 [$ 47 as par today] only.
Today, his network’s budget is in the $10s of millions and yet the frail, octogenarian Edhi chooses to take nothing from it for himself. To this day, he owns two pairs of clothes, has never taken a salary from his organisation and lives in a small two bedroom apartment over his clinic in Karachi.
Mr. Edhi commenced emergency services with a single ambulance; which he named “the Poor Man’s Van”. The foundation now operates over a thousand ambulances, multiple airplanes and even a helicopter; which are available 24 hours throughout Pakistan and abroad — to meet emergency needs.
The foundation has over 400+ centers in Pakistan, Japan, UK and US. This shows Mr. Edhi is above caste, race, creed and religion. The Foundation provides shelter to over 50,000 orphans and homeless people. There are around 10,000 people working in his Foundation and all of them are paid.
The Edhi Foundation is effectively the largest welfare system in Pakistan.
A source of constant support for Edhi has been his wife, Bilquis, a nurse by profession. She used to work at his dispensary .She is equally sincere to the welfare of suffering humanity .She manages the philanthropic Maternity Home at Edhi’s headquarter; along with 6 nursing training schools. Around 1million babies are delivered in the Maternity Home and about 40,000 nurses are trained in the center. Also the process of adoption of orphans and abandoned children is under Mrs. Edhi’s control. The educational and vocational courses are provided to teenage girls in “Edhi Ladies’ Homes”. Edhi believes in empowerment of women and considers them more hardworking, dedicated and honest.
The other services include, multiple hospitals, blood banks, morgues, Refugee Assistance services, Graveyard Services, Prisoner’s Aid, Missing Persons Services, Warehouses, Cancer research hostel, High Ways Project (25 kilometer), International Community Centers in New York, Ontario, Dacca, Tokyo, Sydney, London and Dubai for Asians and others.
It seems that, the Foundation covers all aspects of the human sufferings. And not just human but the foundation also runs animal care centers as well for abused and neglected animals!
Despite all his heroic efforts in making this world a better place, he has never been vocal about, and has never glorified, his selfless deeds.
He is acknowledged not only in Pakistan, but throughout the world as one of the most altruistic and honorable person alive.
He has been given many awards in recognition of his insurmountable and incomparable services, nationally and internationally. In 1988, he was granted Lenin Peace Prize. Then in 1989, The Government of Pakistan gave him Tamgha-e-Imtiaz; furthermore in 2000, the Italian Government presented him its “Balzan Peace Award”, and on 26 March 2005, Edhi was awarded with the Life Time Achievement Award by the World Memon Organization. But these are only a few of the awards he has received. It should be noted that his Foundation is listed as being the largest volunteer organization in the world in Guinness Book of World Records.
They say; life is all about living for others. This holds true for this living legend; Abdur Sattar Edhi. He is truly an epitome of altruism.
Today, aged eighty eight years, he is frail and old and in constant need of dialysis as his kidneys gradually cease to function. This towering icon and arguably one of Pakistan’s most well known faces needs all our prayers and support.
