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| Founder of Edhi. |
Dr. Abdul Sattar Edhi, NI, LPP, RMA, IBP, GPA, MSP (Memoni, Urdu: عبدالستار ایدھی, Gujarati: અબ્દુલ સત્તાર ઇદી), or Maulana Edhi, is a prominent Pakistani philanthropist, social activist, public figure and an humanitarian. He is the founder and head of the Edhi Foundation, a non-profit social welfare organization in Pakistan. Together with his wife, Bilquis Edhi, he received the 1986 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service. He is 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 degree of Doctorate by the University of Bedfordshire.[1]In 1985 Edhi received the Nishan-e-Imtiaz from the Government of Pakistan.[2]
He was born in 1928, in the city of Bantva in what is now western India. Edhi's first interaction with human suffering occurred at the age of eleven, when his mother was physically paralyzed and later suffered from mental illness. Edhi spent his waking hours caring for her, and her worsening health and eventual death left a lasting impact on his life. In 1947, at the age of 19, Mr. Edhi's family was forced to flee their hometown and relocate to Karachi. Finding himself in a new city without any resources, Edhi resolved to dedicate his life to aiding the poor, and over the last sixty years, he has single handedly changed the face of welfare in Pakistan.
Edhi founded the Edhi Foundation, with an initial sum of a mere 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 organization 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. It also runs over three hundred and thirty welfare centers in rural and urban Pakistan which operate as food kitchens, rehabilitation homes, shelters for abandoned women and children and clinics for the mentally handicapped.[3]
Edhi has remained a simple and humble man. To this day, he owns two pairs of clothes, has never taken a salary from his organization and lives in a small two bedroom apartment over his clinic in Karachi.[4][5] He has been recommended for a Nobel Peace prize by the Prime Minister of Pakistan. On June 25, 2013 Edhi’s kidneys failed and it was announced that he will be on dialysis for the rest of his life
Early life
Edhi was born in 1928 in Bantva in the Gujarat, India.[7] When he was eleven, his mother became paralyzed and later grew mentally ill and died when he was 19. His personal experiences caused him to develop a system of services for old, mentally ill and challenged people. Edhi and his family migrated to Pakistan in 1947. He initially started as a pedlar, later became a commission agent selling cloth in the wholesale market in Karachi. After a few years, he established a free dispensary with the help from his community. He later established a welfare trust, "Edhi Trust".[8]
Abdul Sattar Edhi was married in 1965 to Bilquis, a nurse who worked at the Edhi dispensary.[9] The couple have four children, two daughters and two sons. Bilquis runs the free maternity home at the headquarter in Karachi and organizes the adoption of illegitimate and abandoned babies..
Charity work
Edhi Foundation runs the world's largest ambulance service and operates free nursing homes, orphanages, clinics, women's shelters, and rehab centers for drug addicts and mentally ill individuals.[10] It has run relief operations in Africa, Middle East, the Caucasus region, eastern Europe and US where it provided aid following the New Orleans hurricane of 2005. In November 2011, Edhi was recommended for a Nobel Peace prize by the Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani.[11] Abdul Sattar Edhi suffers Renal Failure as announced on 26 June 2013 at SIUT and needs kidney donation.[12]
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."[13] In January 2009, Edhi was refused entry to Gaza by Egyptian authorities.[14]
Honors and awards
International awards
- Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service (1986)[15]
- Lenin Peace Prize (1988)[16]
- Paul Harris Fellow from Rotatory International Foundation, (1993)[16]
- Peace Prize from (USSR former) for services in the American earthquake disaster, (1998)
- Largest Voluntary Ambulance Organization of the World - Guinness Book of World Records (2000)[16]
- Hamdan Award for volunteers in Humanitarian Medical Services (2000) UAE[16]
- International Balzan Prize (2000) for Humanity, Peace and Brotherhood, Italy[16]
- Peace and Harmony Award (Delhi), 2001
- Peace Award (Mumbai), 2004
- Peace Award (Hyderabad Deccan), 2005
- Wolf of Bhogio Peace Award (Italy), 2005
- Gandhi Peace Award (Delhi),2007
- UNESCO Madan jeet sing Peace Award (Paris),2007
- Peace Award Seoul (South Korea), 2008
- Peace Award (London), 2011
National awards
- Silver Jubilee Shield by College of Physicians and Surgeons, Pakistan, (1962–1987)[16]
- The Social Worker of Sub-Continent by Government of Sind, Pakistan, (1989)[16]
- Recognition of meritorious services to oppressed humanity during eighties by Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Government of Pakistan, (1989)[16]
- Shield of Honor by Pakistan Army (E & C)[16]
- Khidmat Award by Pakistan Academy of Medical Sciences[16]
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