Born in 1928 in a small village of Bantva near JoonaGarh, Gujrat (India), Abdul Sattar Edhi felt personally responsible for taking on the challenge of developing a system of services to reduce human miseries from a young age. 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.
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 had 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. Inspite of his
busy work schedule with the Foundation, Edhi found enough time to spare with
the residents of the orphanages called “Edhi Homes”. He was very fond 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 was popularly called
“Nana” (Grandfather) by the residents of “Edhi Homes”.
On 25 June 2013, Edhi’s was hospitalized due to failing kidneys; it was announced that he would be on dialysis for the rest of his life unless he found a kidney donor. He later died on 8 July 2016 at the age of 88 due to complete kidney failure after having been placed on a ventilator. One of his last wishes was that his organs be donated for the use of the needy. He was laid to rest at Edhi Village in Karachi.
He was the only Pakistani without a state authority or a state role to receive a state funeral.
Today, the Edhi Foundation is funded entirely by private donations and full services are offered to people irrespective of ethnicity, religion or status. It runs the world’s largest volunteer ambulance service (operating over 1,500 of them) and offers 24-hour emergency services. It also operates free nursing homes, orphanages, clinics, women’s shelters and rehabilitation centres for drug addicts and the mentally ill. It has run relief operations in the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and United States. In 2005, the foundation donated US$ 100,000 to relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina.