No amount of praise can encapsulate the depth and breadth of unconditional, selfless public service Abdul Sattar Edhi has provided for Pakistanis for six decades. The Edhi Foundation, the leading relief organization in Pakistan has the largest voluntary ambulance service in the world, “without any discrimination on the basis of color, race, language, religion or politics”.
According to their website, the foundation provides emergency service nationwide through 335 Edhi Centers with the fleet of 1800 Ambulances which provide free shrouding and burial of unclaimed dead bodies, shelter for the destitute, orphans and handicapped, free hospitals and dispensaries, rehabilitation of drug addicts, free wheel chairs, crutches and other services for the handicapped, family planning counseling and maternity services, national and international relief efforts for the victims of natural calamities. To date the foundation has rescued an estimated 20,000 abandoned infants, rehabilitated over 50,000 orphans and has trained over 40,000 nurses.
In June 2013, Edhi was put on lifelong dialysis as his kidneys failed. During the uncertain hours when he was hospitalized, Pakistanis of all denominations and backgrounds universally prayed for his health and well-being. For a divisive country that can never get behind a single idea, Edhi stands as a unique, uniting beacon of hope, perseverance, and universal love for humanity. It is a mystery why this man has never won a Nobel Peace prize.
