Abdul Sattar Edhi

Abdul Sattar Edhi was born in 1928 in a small village of Bantva near Joona Garh, Gujrat (India). The seeds of compassion for the suffering humanity were sown in his soul by his mother’s infirmity. When Edhi was at the tender age of eleven, his mother became paralysed and later got mentally ill. Young Abdul Sattar devoted himself for looking after all her needs; cleaning, bathing, changing clothes and feeding. This proved to be a loosing battle against the disease, and her helplessness increased over the years. Her persistent woeful condition left a lasting impression on young Edhi. The course of his life took a different turn from other persons of his age. His studies were also seriously affected and he could not complete his high school level. For him the world of suffering became his tutor and source of wisdom.

Edhi’s mother died when he was 19. His personal experience made him think of thousands and millions, suffering like his mother, around with nobody to look after them. He thought that he had a call to help these people. He had a vision of chains of welfare centres and hospitals that could be opened to alleviate the pain of those suffering from illness and neglect. He also thought of the in-human treatment meted out to the mentally ill, the insane and the disabled persons.

Even at this early age, he felt personally responsible for taking on the challenge of developing a system of services to reduce human miseries. The task was huge he had no resources. But it was some thing that he had to do even if he had to walk to the streets if he had to beg for this purpose.

Edhi and his family migrated to Pakistan in 1947. In order to earn his living, Abdul Sattar Edhi initially started as a peddler, later became a commission agent selling cloth in the wholesale market in Karachi.

After a couple of years, he left this occupation and with the support of some members of his community decided to establish a free dispensary. He became involved in this charity work. However, soon his personal vision of a growing and developing system of multifarious services made him decide to establish a welfare trust of his own and named it as "Edhi Trust".

An appeal was made to the public for funds. The response was good, and Rs.200,000/- were raised. The range and scope of work of Edhi Trust expanded with remarkable speed under the driving spirit of the man behind it. A maternity home was established and emergency ambulance service was started in the sprawling metropolis of Karachi with a population of over 10 million.

More donations were received as people’s confidence in the activities of the Trust grew. With the passage of time, masses gave him the title of the" Angel of Mercy."

Abdul Sattar Edhi was married in 1965 to Bilquis, a nurse who worked at the Edhi dispensary. The couple have four children, two daughters and two sons. Bilquis runs the free maternity home at the headquarter in Karachi and organises the adoption of illegitimate and abandoned babies. The husband-wife team has come to share the common vision of single minded devotion to the cause of alleviation of human sufferings and a sense of personal responsibility to respond to each call for help, regardless of race, creed or status.

Edhi involves himself in every activity at Edhi Foundation from raising funds to bathing corpses. Round the clock he keeps with him an ambulance which he drives himself and makes rounds of the city regularly. On finding a destitute or an injured person any where on the way, he escorts him to the Relief Centre where immediate attention is given to the needy person. Inspite of his busy work schedule with the Foundation, Edhi finds enough time to spare with the residents of the orphanages called "Edhi Homes". He is very found of playing and laughing with the children. A short strongly built man in his early seventies with a flowing beard and a ready smile, Edhi is popularly called "Nana" (Grandfather) by the residents of "Edhi Homes".

Despite his enormous fame and the vast sums of money that passes through his hands, Edhi adheres to a very simple and modest life style. He and his family live in a two room apartment adjacent to the premises of Foundation’s headquarter. Neither Edhi nor Bilquis receives any salary. They live on the income from government securities that Edhi bought many years ago to take care of their personal needs for the rest of their lives, thereby freeing them to devote single mindedly to their missionary work.

He shuns publicity for the fear of becoming haughty. As the credibility and fame grew and the name of Edhi became a house-hold word, people started approaching him for becoming chief guest on special occasions.

In an interview given to a journalist in Lahore in 1991, Edhi said,"I want to request the people not to invite me to social gatherings and inaugural ceremonies. This only wastes my time which is wholly devoted to the well being of our people."

Although Edhi has a traditional Islamic background, he has an open and progressive mind on a number of sensitive social issues. He strongly supports the notion of working women. Of the 2,000 paid workers of the Edhi Foundation around 500 are women. They work in various capacities in-charges of Edhi centres, heads of maternity homes and dispensaries and office workers. More-over, several women volunteers help Edhi Foundation in fund raising. Edhi encourages women to do all sorts of work without differentiation.

Abdul Sattar Edhi’s social welfare services are spanned over his entire life by offering exclusive sacrifices in many areas like personal and social life as well as his personal business, and so on. He is serving the humanity selflessly and dedicatedly without expecting for any monetary benefit or financial gain. He has buried over 200,000 unclaimed dead bodies.

His exclusive services to the mankind, with exclusive reference to shrouding and then burying unclaimed and abandoned dead-bodies, at a time, when there is no value of any human being, as extremists of the modern times are cutting the healthy and live human beings into pieces like onions and tomatoes, at such time, Edhi’s role for the humanity is truly unparalleled and unmatched, and very least possibilities of tracing this sort of best services for the humanity, across the world.

This is something indicating towards a reality that there is no place of goodwill, love and affection, brotherhood and amity, feelings of friendliness yet by serving to the humanity, Edhi has given a new meaning to the life that everyone should forward to give goodwill, love and affection, brotherhood and affection, and feelings of friendliness to others again a matter of pride for Edhi.

INTERNATIONAL AWARDS:

• Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service (1986). 
• Lenin Peace Prize (1988). 
• Paul Harris Fellow from Rotary International (1993). 
• Peace Prize from the former USSR, for services during the Armenian earthquake disaster (1988). 
• Hamdan Award for volunteers in Humanitarian Medical Services (2000), UAE. 
• International Balzan Prize (2000) for Humanity, Peace and Brotherhood, Italy. 
• Peace and Harmony Award (2001), Delhi. 
• Peace Award (2004), Mumbai. 
• Peace Award (2005), Hyderabad Deccan. 
• Gandhi Peace Award (2007), Delhi. 
• Peace Award (2008), Seoul. 
• Honorary doctorate from the Institute of Business Administration Karachi (2006). 
• UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize (2009). 
• Ahmadiyya Muslim Peace Prize (2010). 
• Honorary Doctorate by the University of Bedfordshire (2010).

NATIONAL AWARDS:

• Silver Jubilee Shield by College of Physicians and Surgeons (1962–1987). 
• Moiz ur rehman Award (2015). 
• The Social Worker of Sub-Continent by Government of Sindh (1989). 
• Nishan-e-Imtiaz, civil decoration from the Government of Pakistan (1989). 
• Recognition of meritorious services to oppressed humanity during the 1980s by Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Government of Pakistan (1989). 
• Pakistan Civic Award from the Pakistan Civic Society (1992). 
• Jinnah Award for Outstanding Services to Pakistan was conferred in April 1998 by The Jinnah Society. This was the first Jinnah Award conferred on any person in Pakistan. 
• Shield of Honor by Pakistan Army (E and C). 
• Khidmat Award by the Pakistan Academy of Medical Sciences. 
• Bacha Khan Aman (Peace) Award in 1991 Human Rights Award by Pakistan Human Rights Society. 
• 2013 Person of the Year by the readers of The Express Tribune.