Legends- Abdul Sattar Edhi

Abdul Sattar Edhi was born in Bantva in 1925.He along with his family migrated to Pakistan in 1947.

When Edhi was at the tender age of eleven, his mother became paralyzed. Young Abdul Sattar devoted himself for looking after all her needs; cleaning, bathing, changing clothes and feeding. This proved to be a loosing battle against the disease, and her helplessness increased over the years.He was jobless and penniless young man.His mother needed bedpan and pots but they were expensive and he could not manage to buy.Her persistent woeful condition left a lasting impression on young Edhi.

He kept thinking about other poor men.He had an idea that if he begged for used pots and pans from well to do families, he could stock them for poor families' use. His idea worked and he soon collected pots, pans, wheel chairs and crutches etc. and he stocked them in a go down space someone had allowed him to use.

Then an epidemic of influenza broke out in Karachi , so Edhi got some medicines and began distributing them to the needy people while sitting on the steps of a mosque . He became famous by this action. He was worried about his personal income so he started selling pins, needles, thread spools etc. in a tray wearing a tray on his neck.

He earned just enough for his and his mother's basic needs. While he was struggling, he noted that it was pretty hard task to carry ill persons to the hospitals. He shifted some injured persons in taxis and rickshaws to the hospitals without asking for their relatives' permission and thus saved their lives .People were very happy and some people donated generously to him

He bought a volks wagon micro bus in junk condition .He spent many days and nights and converted this junk into a running vehicle himself.

He now had his first ambulance in his hands. Now Abdul Sattar Edhi was a house hold name in the field of ambulances .In those days Karachi had only one service St.John's Ambulance Service with one or two vehicles, operated by a Christian charity. Edhi's ambulance was always there and he didn't ask any questions or claimed any charges. People liked this attitude and began donating more and more, so Edhi bought another vehicle and another and another and so on to become the largest ambulance service in the world. The go down he used to stock his ware was offered for rent and he took the chance to get it for his own setup. He began a clinic with very minimum drugs and medicines and got a doctor on a nominal salary. The clinic was under way.There was full crowding of poor people.Edhi wore very simple grey cloth dress and he did not have time to shave .His beard grew and people began calling him Maulana .This name is still his identity.

Edhi was a loner. In He married Bilquis at the age of forty plus. Biquis was a nurse in his clinic. They have four children, two boys and two girls.


One incident in his life gives insight to his mentality. A building known as Bismillah Manzil(Karachi) collapsed during the night. Many people died in this accident. Edhi rescued one orphan boy and raised him in his own home.The boy grew up with his children.As the boy grew up Edhi wedded this boy to his eldest daughter Kubra. This couple had three children but there were some problems between them and Edhi's son in law divorced Kubra. Kubra took over ladies section of Edhi to forget about the scar of her pains. She was in charge of mentally retarded women.One day one ill lady grabbed Kubra's 4 year old son Bilal and poured hot water over him which killed. Abdul Sattar Edhi at the time was at rescue work at a railway accident,He was informed of the death of his grand son but Edhi refused to leave the rescue work and did not return for two more days. The woman who committed this horrible act was brought to Edhi but Edhi forgave that lady and kept her in his shelter for a long time till she ran away.

At present Edhi operates more than 600 ambulances, mental asylums, maternity homes, schools dairy farm for milk for the patients, a faculty for hydrotherapy, elaborate kitchen, staff buses etc. His total staff including drivers, numbers around ten thousand. His fifty kilometer scheme provides ambulances at every road in Pakistan after fifty kilometers

saving lives of many road accident victims

now edhi is 85 years old but he is active as ever.He regularly visits his centers around Karachi and also visits his centers in Pakistan and abroad.

His son Kutub takes care of USA operation, Faisal Edhi is incharge of Karachi operations but Edhi is hard to please, he insists on doing every thing himself.

Operating 32 different services, all for poor people work he doesn't claim any religious or community label. He says he serves only humanity.Some incidents in Edhi's life are eye openers .People like are the pride of the humanity let aside the community