A world renowned philanthropist and in every sense of the word a phenomenon, a living legend and our national hero.
"My religion is humanitarianism… which is the basis of every religion in the world," Sir Abdul Sattar Edhi says.
Staying true to his words, this man devoted his entire life to the service of mankind. His story, thereby, is truly inspiring.
Edhi was merely 11 years of age when his mother became paralysed and mentally unstable. At that young age, he spent his days and nights taking care of and nursing his ailing mother. This very first experience of hardship at such a tender age made him what he is today, a hero - our hero.
His mother left him when he was 19. With his priority now to provide maximum help to the poor and the needy, he worked tirelessly. He's, without a doubt a living example of the phrase ''hard work knows no bounds.'' Starting off his career as a street hawker in Karachi, selling matchboxes and pencils, Sir Abdul Sattar Edhi is today, the chief of a nationwide organisation.
He founded the Edhi trust and foundation with the meagre amount of 5000 rupees, but the foundation today, has the world's largest fleet of over 1,800 ambulances, 28 rescue boats and 2 airplanes.
In the early days of his foundation, he would hurtle around the province of Sindh in his battered ambulance, collecting dead bodies and then burying them himself. In an attempt to reduce infanticide, he placed a cradle outside every Edhi center. To this day, more than 35,000 babies have been saved. He has led relief missions not only in Pakistan, but across other parts of the Muslim world. He has rehabilitated over 50,000 orphans and runs over 300 welfare centres in Pakistan, offering help to anyone in need. He also runs 24 hour medical dispensaries - everything funded by donations from Pakistanis living in, or outside the country. To this day, he refuses to take any assistance from the government, thereby maintaining the foundation's independence.
Abdul Sattar Edhi was married in the year 1965 to Bilquis, a nurse who worked at the Edhi dispensary. His wife runs the free maternity home at the headquarter in Karachi and organizes the adoption of illegitimate and abandoned babies. The husband and wife team has come to share the common vision of single-minded devotion to the cause of the alleviation of human sufferings and a sense of personal responsibility to respond to each call for help, regardless of race, creed or status.
His simplicity, however, really touched my heart. To this day, he owns only two pairs of clothes, he's never taken a salary from his organization and lives in a small, two bedroom apartment over his clinic in Karachi.
With just an insight into the many great doings of Sir Abdul Sattar Edhi, it's pretty much evident that no words can do justice to a strong, self-sacrificing personality like his. At 86 years of age, he continues to expand his dream with his unmatched dedication and commitment.