|
Edhi’s
mother died when he was 19. His personal experience made
him think of thousands and millions, suffering like his
mother, 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. 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 some thing 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, Edhi initially started as a peddler, 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 the
community decided to establish a free dispensary. He became
involved in the charity work. However, soon his personal
vision of a growing and developing system of services made
him decide to establish a welfare trust of his own and
named it as “Edhi Trust”. He made an appeal to
the public for funds and he was able to raise RS 2,00,000.
The range and scope of work of Edhi trust expanded with
remarkable speed under the driving spirit of the man behind
it.
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.
Despite
his enormous fame and the vast sums of money that passes
through his hands, Edhi adheres to a very simple and modest
life style. He and his family live in a two-room apartment
adjacent to the premises of Foundation’s headquarters.
They live on the income from government securities that
Edhi bought many years ago to take care of their personal
needs.
Of
the 2000 paid workers of Edhi foundation 500 are women.
They work in various capacities. More-over several women
volunteers help Edhi foundation in fund raising.
Related
Links
Edhi
Foundation
Abdul
Sattar Edhi - social worker
Angel
Hero
Symbol
of Humanity
|
