Icarus
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Born in 1928, Abdul Sattar Edhi migrated to Pakistan with his family during partition. Edhi was always very charitable from a young age, he helped his first person when he was a young boy, while going to a soccer match, he saw an old man lying besides a road, injured and weak the man looked extremely frail. Edhi took his temperature and came to the conclusion that the man's wound has been infected, he nursed the man back to health, gave him 3 square meals a day and provided him with clean clothes and a blanket to keep himself warm. According to Edhi, he felt a satisfaction unlike ever before after helping the man and he got addicted to it.
Edhi was a chemist by profession and was famous in and around Karachi for handing out free medicines to the poor, and to the people who migrated from India and were now homeless. He bought a rusty old van in which he used to take rounds of the city, providing medical aid to those who needed it and picking up unclaimed bodies, his van became popularly known as the "poor man's van".
There was a flu epidemic in 1957 during which Edhi arranged for medication, immunization and tents for the affected. Edhi was convinced that philanthropy was his future, and with the small sum of rs. 5000 {Approx. $55.56}, he set up his first Edhi centre in Karachi, the first centre consisted only of one room and the only staff serving at the centre was Edhi himself.
Since then the foundation has expanded to over 300 centres and has an ambulance fleet of over 700 vehicle, the largest in Pakistan and the world's largest private fleet. In Karachi alone, the Edhi Foundation runs 8 hospitals providing free medical care, eye hospitals, diabetic centers, surgical units, a 4- bed cancer hospital and mobile dispensaries. In addition to these the Foundation also manages two blood banks in Karachi. The Edhi Foundation is the first of its kind in South Asia that owns air ambulances, providing quick access to far-flung areas. Whether it is a train accident or a bomb blast, Edhi ambulances are the first to arrive. The foundation relies on the support of its 3, 500 workers and thousands of volunteers who form the backbone of the organization.
Despite the growth of the foundation, Edhi remains a very down to earth person, dressed always in a grey homespun cotton local clothes. He has a hands on approach to his work, sweeping his own room and even cleaning the gutter if need be. Apart from the one room, which he uses for his living quarters, the rest of the building serves as his workplace in Mithadar, a locality of old Karachi that is full of narrow streets and congested alleyways. Adjoining their living room is a small kitchen where Bilquees usually prepares the midday meal. Next to it is a washing area where bodies are bathed and prepared for burial.
When Edhi is not traveling to supervise his other centers, a typical day for him begins at five in the morning with morning Fajr prayers. His work starts thereafter answering any calls for help, organizing and meeting people in need while afternoons are spent at various centers and hospitals all over the city. In the evening he dines with hundreds of poor at his "free community meals common among South East Asia" at another Edhi centre in the city. His Fridays are invariably spent at homes for the destitute children where Edhi personally helps bathe the ones who are physically handicapped, before joining them for Friday prayers. Occasionally, when he is able to, he also takes them out for picnics.
The foundation also has an education scheme, which apart from teaching reading and writing covers various vocational activities such as driving, pharmacy and para-medical training. The emphasis is on self-sufficiency. The Edhi Foundation has branches in several countries where they provide relief to refugees in the USA, UK, Canada, Japan, and Bangladesh. In 1991 the Foundation provided aid to victims of the Gulf war and earthquake victims in Iran and Egypt, the foundation was also quite active in helping the Tsunami victims in Srilanka, Indonesia, etc.
Edhi plans mass campaigns against narcotics, illiteracy, population control and basic hygiene. Edhi’s wife Bilquees works in the areas of maternity centre management. She runs 6 nursing training schools in Karachi, which provide basic training courses. These centres have so far trained over 40,000 qualified nurses. Some 20,000 abandoned babies have been saved and about a million babies have been delivered in the Edhi maternity homes. Bilquees also supervises the food that is supplied to the Edhi hospitals in Karachi. The total number of orphans in Edhi housing is 50,000 and Edhi’s two daughters and one son assist in the running of the orphanages and the automation of these institutions.
Edhi’s vision is to create an institution that will carry on his life’s work and survive for a long time to come. His dream is that of a Pakistan as a modern welfare state, which provides a safety net for the poor and needy while providing basic health and education with vocational skills. A welfare state Edhi feels is the only way to tackle Pakistan’s myriad social problems. He hopes that one day, Pakistan will be a model for other developing countries.
In 1985 Edhi received the Nishan-e-Imtiaz from the Government of Pakistan and in recognition of their services the Government of Philippines awarded Edhi & Bilquees the Magsayay award.
According to statistics:
20,000 abandoned babies have been saved.
40,000 qualified nurses have been trained
50,000 orphans are housed in Edhi Homes
1 million babies have been delivered in Edhi Maternity Centres
For his services and selfless dedication to humanity, Edhi has been presented with the 1986 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service. He is also the recipient of the Lenin Peace Prize and the Balzan Prize.
However, he has not received the Nobel Peace prize, the criteria for nominating someone for the Nobel prize is that the nominator must be an educator(university professor), a Nobel laureate or a member of assembly, since I am none of the stated, I couldn't nominate him but it did make me think of how inefficient and self-obsessed our people are, the members of assembly should have sent his name for consideration, if not accepted they should have sent it over and over again for his selfless dedication, they should have sent a unanimous appeal but to this day, the humble man remains without the recognition he so truly deserves.
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