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Official Website : http://www.edhi.org/
From WikiPedia:
Abdul Sattar Edhi, Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Urdu: عبد الستار ایدھی or Maulana Edhi, as he is often known, is a Pakistani philanthropist. He is head of the Edhi Foundation, the world's largest ambulance help service and charity. Together with his wife, Bilquis Edhi, he received the 1986 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service. He is also the recipient of theLenin Peace Prize and the Balzan Prize. Edhi is a Muslim of the Memon community. TheInstitute of Business Administration, the first business school of the Pakistan, conferred a honoris causa degree of Doctor of Social Service Management (11 November 2006), saying that the great national hero and all time legend Abdul Sattar Edhi deserved that for his unparalleled services to mankind. Also, on September 22, 2010 Edhi was awarded an honorary degree of Doctorate by the University of Bedfordshire.


Early life

Edhi was born in 1928in Bantva in the Gujarat, British India. His family migrated to Karachi, Pakistan in 1947 and in 1951 he purchased a small shop where he opened a small dispensary with the help of a doctor who taught him basic medical care.

Upbringing and Outlook

When Edhi was eleven years old, his mother became paralyzed and later grew mentally ill. Young Abdul Sattar devoted himself for looking after all her needs; cleaning, bathing, changing clothes and feeding. This proved to be a losing battle against the disease, and her helplessness increased over the years. Her persistent woeful condition left a lasting impression on young Edhi. The course of his life took a different turn from other persons of his age. His studies were also seriously affected and he could not complete his high school level. For him the world of suffering became his tutor and source of wisdom.
Edhi's mother died when he was 19. His personal experience made him think of thousands and millions, suffering like his mother, around with nobody to look after them. He thought that he had a call to help these people. He had a vision of chains of welfare centers and hospitals that could be opened to alleviate the pain of those suffering from illness and neglect. He also thought of the inhuman treatment meted out to the mentally ill, the insane and the disabled persons. Even at this early age, he felt personally responsible for taking on the challenge of developing a system of services to reduce human miseries. The task was huge; he had no resources. But it was something that he had to do even if he had to walk to the streets with a cap in hand 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 pedlar, 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 "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. More donations were received as people's confidence in the activities of the trust grew. With the passage of time, masses gave him the title of the "Angel of mercy".
Abdul Sattat Edhi was married in 1965 to Bilquis, a nurse who worked at the Edhi dispensary. The couple have four children, two daughters and two sons. Bilquis runs the free maternity home at the headquarter in Karachi and organizes the adoption of illegitimate and abandoned babies. The husband-wife team has come to share the common vision of single minded devotion to the cause of alleviation of human sufferings and a sense of personal responsibiliy to respond to each call for help, regardless of race, creed or status.
Despite his enormous fame and the vast sums of money that passes through his hands, Edhi adheres to a very modest lifestyle. He and his family live in a two room apartment adjacent to the premises of Foundation's headquarter. Neither Edhi nor Bilquis receives any salary. The live on the income from government securities that Edhi bought many years ago to take care of their personal needs for the rest of their lives, thereby freeing them to devote single mindedly to their missionary work.

Charity Work

Edhi Foundation runs the world's largest ambulatory service and operates free old people's homes, orphanages, clinics, women shelters, rehab centers for drug addicts and mentally ill individuals. It has run relief operations in Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus region, eastern Europe and even the US, when it helped provide aid following the New Orleans hurricane of 2005.


Travel issues

In January 2008, US immigration officials interrogated Edhi at the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York for over eight hours, and seized his passport and other documents. In January 2009, Edhi was refused entry to Gaza by Egyptian authorities.


Honors and awards


International awards


National awards

  • Silver Jubilee Shield by College of Physicians and Surgeons, Pakistan, (1962–1987) 
  • The Social Worker of Sub-Continent by Government of Sind, Pakistan, (1989) 
  • Nishan-e-Imtiaz, cival decoration from Government of Pakistan (1989) 
  • Recognition of meritorious services to oppressed humanity during eighties by Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Government of Pakistan, (1989) 
  • Pakistan Civic Award from the Pakistan Civic Society (1992) 
  • Shield of Honor by Pakistan Army (E & C)
  • Khidmat Award by Pakistan Academy of Medical Sciences 
  • Human Rights Award by Pakistan Human Rights Society 

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