Abdul Sattar Edhi

Dr. Abdul Sattar Edhi,  or Maulana Edhi, is a prominent Pakistani philanthropist, social activist and 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 Awardfor Public Service.

 He is also the recipient of the Lenin Peace Prize and the Balzan Prize. In 2006, Institute of Business AdministrationPakistan 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.^[3]In 1985 Edhi received the Nishan-e-Imtiaz from the Government of Pakistan.^[4]

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 abandonedinfants, 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.^[5]

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.^[6][7] He has been recommended for a Nobel Peace prize by thePrime 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, unless he finds a kidney donor.^[8]