Pakistan observes the fifth death anniversary of prominent philanthropist and humanitarian, Abdul Sattar Edhi today on the 8th of July. He was born on 28th February 1928, in Gujarat before the partition of the sub-continent and passed away in 2016 at the age of 88 in Karachi.
He founded the Edhi foundation, which runs the world’s largest volunteer ambulance network, along with various shelters for the homeless, animal shelters, rehabilitation centres and orphanages all across Pakistan. Following his death, his son Faisal Edhi took over as head of the Edhi Foundation.
Over his lifetime, the Edhi Foundation expanded, backed entirely by private donations, which included establishing a network of 1,800 ambulances. By the time of his death, Edhi was registered as a parent or guardian of nearly 20,000 adopted children of whom he was an active caretaker. He is known amongst Pakistanis as the “Angel of Mercy” and is considered to be Pakistan’s most respected and legendary figure. In 2013, The Huffington Post claimed that he might be “the world’s greatest living humanitarian”.
Outside of its main base of operations all over South Asia, the Edhi Foundation has also run relief operations in the Middle East, Africa, the Caucasus region, Eastern Europe and the United States. He was awarded with several national honors including Hilal-e-Imtiaz and the Guinness Book of World Records also acknowledged his services.
He was and will always be in our hearts forever!!
