The Life of Abdul Sattar Edhi

Abdul Sattar Edhi (Memoni, Urdu: عبدالستار ایدھی‎; 1 January 1928 – 8 July 2016) was a prominent Pakistani philanthropist, social activist, ascetic, and humanitarian. He was the founder and head of the Edhi Foundation in Pakistan and ran the organization for the better part of six decades. He was known as Angel of Mercy and was considered Pakistan's "most respected figure."^[In 2013, The Huffington Post said that he might be "the world's greatest living humanitarian.

Early life

Edhi was born in 1928 in Bantva in the Gujarat, British India. When he was eleven, his mother became paralysed from a stroke and she died when Edhi was 19. His personal experiences and care for his mother during her illness, caused him to develop a system of services for old, mentally ill and challenged people. The partition of India led Edhi and his family to migrate to Pakistan in 1947 .He then shifted to Karachi to work in a market at a wholesale shop. His mother would give him 1 paisa for his meals and another to give to a beggar.^[9] He initially started as a peddler, and laterbecame a commission agent selling cloth in the wholesale market in Karachi. After a few years, he established a free dispensary with help from his community

He told NPR in 2009 that "I saw people lying on the pavement ... The flu had spread in Karachi, and there was no one to treat them. So I set up benches and got medical students to volunteer. I was penniless and begged for donations on the street. And people gave. I bought this 8-by-8 room to start my work."

Charity work

Edhi resolved to dedicate his life to aiding the poor, and over the next sixty years, he single handedly changed the face of welfare in Pakistan. Edhi founded the Edhi Foundation, with an initial sum of a five thousand rupees. Regarded as a guardian for the poor, Edhi began receiving numerous donations, which allowed him to expand his services. To this day, the Edhi Foundation continues to grow in both size and service, and is currently the largest welfare organisation in Pakistan. Since its inception, the Edhi Foundation has rescued over 20,000 abandoned infants, rehabilitated over 50,000 orphans and has trained over 40,000 nurses.^{[citation needed]} It also runs more than 330 welfare centres in rural and urban Pakistan which operate as food kitchens, rehabilitation homes, shelters for abandoned women and children and clinics for the mentally handicapped.

The Edhi Foundation, founded by Edhi, runs the world's largest ambulance service (operating 1,500 of them) and offers 24-hour emergency services. It also operates free nursing homes, orphanages, clinics, women's shelters, and rehab centres for drug addicts and mentally ill individuals.^[11] It has run relief operations in Africa, Middle East, the Caucasus region, eastern Europe and United States where it provided aid following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. His son Faisal Edhi, wife Bilquis Edhi and daughters managed the daily operations of the organization during his ill health.^{[citation needed]}

Edhi was influenced by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Mother Teresa. He was referred as Pakistan's version of Mother Teresa,^[12] and the BBC wrote that he was considered "Pakistan's most respected figure and was seen by some as almost a saint."

Recognition

Together with his wife, Bilquis Edhi, he received the 1986 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service. He was also the recipient of the Lenin Peace Prize and the Balzan Prize. In 2006, Institute of Business Administration Pakistan conferred an honoris causa degree of Doctor of Social Service Management for his services. In September 2010, Edhi was also awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Bedfordshire. In 1989, Edhi received the Nishan-e-Imtiaz from the Government of Pakistan. On 1 January 2014, Edhi was voted the 2013 Person of the Year by the readers of The Express Tribune. He was recommended for a Nobel Peace prize by the Prime Minister of Pakistan with more than 30,000 signing a petition by Ziauddin Yousafzai, the father of Malala Yousafzai for his nomination.

Travel issues

In the early 1980s he was arrested by Israeli troops while entering Lebanon. In 2006, he was detained in Toronto, Canada, for 16 hours. In January 2008, US immigration officials interrogated Edhi at the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York for over eight hours, and seized his passport and other documents. When asked about the frequent detention Edhi said "The only explanation I can think of is my beard and my dress."

Personal life and death

Edhi was married in 1965 to Bilquis, a nurse who worked at the Edhi dispensary. The couple had four children, two daughters and two sons.Edhi was known for his asceticlifestyle, owning only two pairs of clothes and living in an apartment next to his organization's office

On 25 June 2013, Edhi's kidneys failed; it was announced that he would be on dialysis for the rest of his life unless he found a kidney donor. Edhi died on 8 July 2016 at the age of 88 due to kidney failure after having been placed on a ventilator. He will be buried in Edhi Village. His last wishes included the request that his organs were to be donated but due to his ill health, only his corneas were suitable. He will be given a full state funeral.

Reactions to his death came from several high-ranking Pakistani officials. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said "We have lost a great servant of humanity. He was the real manifestation of love for those who were socially vulnerable, impoverished, helpless and poor." The country's head of the army, Raheel Sharif, called him a "true humanitarian."

Honors and awards

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 (1998)
• 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
• Wolf of Bhogio Peace Award (2005), Italy
• 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)

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 1980's by Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Government of Pakistan (1989)
• Pakistan Civic Award from the Pakistan Civic Society (1992)^[
• Shield of Honor by Pakistan Army (E & C
• Khidmat Award by the Pakistan Academy of Medical Sciences
• Human Rights Award by Pakistan Human Rights Society

Source: en.wikipedia.org