abdul sattar edhi making of a transformational leader is a story that will inspire all the...
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Abdul Sattar Edhi Making of a Transformational Leader is a story that will inspire all the philanthropist.TRANSCRIPT
Abdul Sattar Edhi: Making of a Transformational Leader
Nasir Afghan1
Gerhard Apfelthaler2
Once again, it is a very early morning for Abdul Sattar Edhi. He is sitting behind the window of his
personal office in Karachi, staring at the skyline of the bustling capital of Pakistan. Setting up his
organization, many years ago was anything but an ordinary journey. Abdul Sattar Edhi started his
humanitarian work in 1951 from a very small dispensary in Mithadar (it is Urdu language word for sweet
water land), Karachi, Pakistan. After more than 50 years, his humble beginnings had grown into a large
organization, the Edhi Foundation. In 2008 it employs more than 7,000 workers, including medical
doctors, nurses, health care workers, ambulance drivers and volunteers. It operates more than 1400
ambulances all over Pakistan from more than 250 Edhi centres. There are more than a dozen Edhi
homes (see details in Exhibit 2) for approximately 6,000 people without homes - seniors, special
children, teenagers, children, infants and babies, complemented by an animal shelter. 3 In 2008, the Edhi
Foundation’s annual expenditures were at about 800 million Rupees with revenues around 750 million
Rupees, and the rest being covered through the interest of 3 billion Rupees in cash deposits.
More than 50 years have passed since he started his work, and in 2008 Edhi himself is approaching
eighty years of age. The environment was changed and he would not be there forever. The organization
which he has built on dedication and compassion was much in need of systems and standard operating
procedures, and financial sustainability. Edhi had already transferred most of the day to day operational
decisions to his son Faisal Edhi, his daughter Kubra Edhi and his wife Bilquise Edhi. While reflecting on
his last 50 years life Edhi was thinking what values and principles could be valuable for the next
generation of leaders to manage Edhi foundation in the future without putting the spirit of the past
decades at risk, he stopped reflecting, when he heard the call for morning prayer from the distant
mosque.
1 Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan, [email protected] California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, USA, [email protected] For some details on the Edhi centers, see exhibits 1 and 2
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The History of the Edhi Family and Abdul Sattar Edhi’s Childhood
About three centuries ago, the ancestors of Abdul Sattar Edhi migrated from Hala, Sindh (Pakistan) to
Kathiawar in Gujarat (India) after they converted from the Hindu faith to Islam through the contact with
Abdullah Shah Ghazi, a well known spiritual master and Sufi at that time. He also advised the family to
adopt trading and business as their vocation, the profession of Prophet Muhammad. He named them
Momins (which later became Memons). Some of these Memons later settled in Dorajee, some in
Kotyana, some in Kuchi, some in Mithal, and some in Bantva. The Edhi family settled in Bantva
(therefore they are known as Bantva Memons), where his grandfather started to work as a commission
agent for agricultural food items. Interestingly, Edhi recounts that his grandfather, Haji Rehmatullah, did
not believe in surpluses. He even disapproved of having extra food at home. He kept his life simple and
was a deeply content and profoundly patient person which earned him a reputation in the community,
especially for settling conflicts and solving disputes.
Abdul Sattar Edhi was born on December 28th, 1928 in Bantva, India. At that time, Bantva had a total
population of 25,000 of which 70 % were Muslim Memons. Bantva was a prosperous town and the
Memon community resembled an extended family. Thinking back, Abdul Sattar Edhi says about his
father, Haji Abdul Shakoor who worked as a dry fruit commission agent in Bombay. Haji Abdul Shakoor
was married three times. He had a son from the first wife, a son and a daughter from the second wife
and two sons from the third wife. Abdul Sattar Edhi’s mother was his father’s third wife whom he
married after the death of his second wife. Abdul Sattar Edhi’s mother was divorced and had a son and a
daughter from her first marriage who were then raised by her sister after she got married to Haji Abdul
Shakoor. Thinking of her, Edhi said of his mother that she was a very gentle, sensitive and quiet person.
She never was at odds with anyone in her life. She was only saddened by the fact that her two children
from her pervious marriage were not with her, although she never complained about it. She sent Edhi to
school at the age of seven who finished his formal education at the age of thirteen. “I never enjoyed
school and never was interested in education; I was more interested in playing and serving others”, says
Abdul Sattar Edhi. Nevertheless, he emerged as a leader in school who liked to organize groups of boys
of his age to play together. As one of his old friends from Bantva says, “Edhi was our leader. He would
show us circus games and perform gymnastics, organize us to attack fruit trees. At the same time, he
had a very kind and sensitive heart. If an old lady needed help he would be the first one to run and bring
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her medicines. Also, whenever some of the meaner children made fun of handicapped or mentally
challenged people, Sattar would always be the first to fight with these kids in order to make them stop”.
Edhi’s mother would praise him for this by saying, “You have given a voice to the one who did not have
one. These people are as innocent as babies, they know nothing of the world and yet they have to live as
adults”.
According to Sattar Edhi, he has learned love and care from his mother. She would always distribute
cashew nuts, pistachios, ginger and other food items that her husband used to send from Bombay,
amongst the poorer families in her neighbourhood. She would ask young Edhi to distribute these
packets to families who were less fortunate than they were. One story, Edhi likes to share about his
mother goes like this: “When I was in school my mother used to give me two paisas and ask me to buy
food with one and eat it and then buy whatever I am eating for a poor boy watching me eat, but had no
money himself to buy it. When she asked me about the two paisas I sometimes had to confess that I
have eaten all the food from both the paisas. Then, she would say that I have eaten poor people’s
money. These poor people are mazloom – disadvantaged - and that I would still have enough food
myself to eat before I grow old. She told me to fear Allah as he never helps those who do not look after
the mazloom around us; Huquq-ul-Ibaad – the rights of other human beings - is the first priority in Islam,
she would say”. She was only satisfied and happy with him when Abdul Sattar Edhi did a good deed by
helping the less fortunate. According to Edhi: “My mother used to make me do physical labour. I had to
bring raw cotton to our home. She would then clean it so that I could take it back to the shop and earn
extra money. She was of the view that there is no need to sit at home idly and that therefore everyone
should work with their own hands to earn a living”.
During the month of Ramadan4 Edhi’s mother together with other Memon ladies used to prepare food
for distribution among the poor. She always asked Edhi to bring the food to needy families in Bantva,
himself. In the tone of fond memories, Edi says: “It was entirely my mother who planted the seed of
social welfare and charitable work in me. She nurtured it and taught me how to control my desires for
material things and do away with personal greed. Edhi’s mother was more concerned about Edhi’s
development as a kind and caring human being than about his education. She never forced him to study
when he had other noble interests to pursue. Reflecting on this, Edhi says: “I had very strong self
confidence, even in my childhood days. I knew that I had potential to be successful in my life and my
self-confidence helped me establish myself as a leader of others”. His strong will and determination was
4 The annual 30 days period of religious fasting in Islam where eating is only permitted in the time between dusk and dawn.
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supported by his strong physique. He was athletic and good looking. His friends were usually reluctant
to compete with him in competitions because they knew that he would always win. Edhi’s self
confidence and his desire to make a difference contributed greatly towards the further development of
his personality. As his father worked away from home and his mother was very gentle, he had great
freedom in choosing what he wanted to do with his life, even when he was in school. When his father
once decided to send him to a boarding school in Rajkot, his mother did not allow it. He was his
mother’s favourite child, and she did not want him to grow up away from home. Therefore, Edhi
remained in Bantva until his family migrated to Pakistan in September 1947.
In Bantva, Sattar Edhi was known among his friends as Roti5. Edhi explained: “Every time my father came
back home from one of his trips he shaved my head. Once, when I asked him why he does it he
explained that it is simply the most effective way to curb pride and prevent arrogance. It makes you
work better because appearance is a distraction. When you don’t think about the ways you look, you
develop humility and truth.” “I think it was the best lesson I was ever taught”, Edhi says.
According to Edhi his father lead a simple life and based on his many travels and his open personality, he
had an abundance of experiences and wisdom. Edhi remembers him; “My father used to talk very little,
but he always made a great impression on me. He was very religious, prayed five times a day, never
smoked or like many others had an addiction to Pan6. In fact, he didn’t even drink tea. He had very high
moral standards for himself. To him, simplicity was the only tolerable way of life. When we migrated to
Pakistan, we got into serious financial trouble. He never complained that he had to work as a simple
shopkeeper in the cloth market or sell newspapers in order to make a living. Throughout these times, he
never was dishonest in his business. Despite the fact that life in Pakistan was very difficult at that time,
my father was a truly optimistic person and always had a positive attitudeAt the age of Thirteen, Edhi
took his first job at a cloth market with a Seth7, Haji Abdullah. In those days Memon women did not go
to the market to shop, but shopkeepers hired young boys to go from house to house to sell clothes and
other items. Edhi earned five Rupees a month, and soon became Amin8 of the group of sales boys with
additional responsibilities. He usually saved one rupee and gave the rest to his mother. From his savings
he would later buy shares from the stock exchange. According to Edhi himself, he has a “great passion
for saving and a reluctance to spend”.
5 Roti is a flat, circular-shaped bread, people bake in clay ovens.6 Pan is a traditional, herbal stimulant used in Pakistan - a greenleaf with red colour ingredients.7 The Urdu word Seth is used for wealthy businessmen or merchants.8 A person of trust who, among other things, serves as the keeper of valuables.
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In Bantva, Edhi fell in love with a young girl who was a neighbour’s daughter. She used to come to Edhi’s
place every day to collect water and Edhi looked forward to seeing her. Edhi fondly remembers, “Once l
saw her beautiful face. She smiled back at me and my whole day seemed like a present to me. When I
heard that she was engaged to be married, I became melancholic for days”. It is from these days that
Abdul Sattar Edhi narrates an interesting story which left a deep, spiritual impression on him. “One
afternoon, I was with a friend and we were going to a football match. When we passed through the
main bazaar, I saw a beggar lying on the street. My intuition told me that he was not a professional
beggar. He was wounded and had fever. I told my friend to go to the match and that I would join him
later. I returned home and told my mother about the beggar. She gave me food, medicines, blankets
and other things. Then I returned to him, cleaned up his wound and dressed it. I gave him bread and
medicine and brought him to the main Mosque. Next morning when I went to the Mosque to bring even
more food, he had only eaten very little bread with some water. He would only eat in the morning and
at sunset. He seemed very different from other people in my town. He also looked very wise, open
minded and was very kind hearted and soft spoken. He taught me how to read the Quran9 and explained
its understanding of charity. He made me see the presence of Allah in humanitarianism and in the
serving others. He explained to me how Jahez10 is a self Imposing system in society and how destructive
it is to social harmony”.
Edhi thought about his future and what he would do with himself. He spent hours alone dreaming about
his desire to set up hospitals, homes for the elderly, the poor and the sick, He dreamed of opening
factories where the poor could work and earn a living. At the same time he had a very strong desire to
travel around the world and see different countries and cities. When he would share his ideas with his
friends they would call him a Shaikh Chilli11. According to Edhi “I used to remind myself of what my
father said - that it is important to think beyond limitations. Start from the lowest, but think of the
highest. Confining ideas from the start can kill human potential. Therefore I would say to my friends that
it is not in my control to choose where and when ideas come from”. According to an old friend “Edhi had
dreams, but at the same time he was also a very practical person. Based on his values of simplicity and
sensitivity, hard work and saving, humanity, positive attitude and truthfulness, he knew how to grow
little things to achieve big goals”.
Young Edhi’s Self Discovery and Social Work
9 The holy book of Islam.10 Dowry System (transl.)11 Dreamer (transl.)
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After have left the job with the cloth merchant, Edhi started his own business. During mornings, he sold
pencils, pens, matchboxes and other small items in the Bazaar12 of Bantva, and in the afternoon he read
newspapers, books and magazines in order to educate himself. “During that time I read publications
such as the Muslim Gujarat Gazette, the Bombay Samachar, or the Sandes magazine. These readings
introduced me to the ideas of Marx and Lenin. I learned about the struggle of the oppressed in Russia
against the capitalists. I got Marx’s “Das Kapital”, the Poverty of Philosophy and his other writings and I
was fascinated by them. I was also touched deeply by ‘Mother’ by Gorky”. Edhi further adds “everything
became much clearer to him when he read the epic story of Hazrat Imam Hussain”. Edhi explains: “From
this epic story I have learned about the struggle between good and evil, between Mazloom13 (Imam
Hussain) and Zalim14 (Yazid). I also learned that Sarmayadar are Zalim and poor people are Mazloom.
Zalim divide people into different classes, races, casts, religions, etc. hence depriving them of their most
basic rights. The “Sarmayadar” retain major profits and share only very little with the labourers by
paying them very low wages; therefore labourers are always left in poverty”. In today’s Pakistan, Edhi
continues, there is not much difference - the Seth pay little to the labourers, they evade taxes, they
never pay Zakaat15, and live like kings, therefore they are Zalim, the oppressors”. According to his son
“Mr. Edhi did not only saw similarities between the past and the present, he also found himself in the
story of Zalim and Mazloom”.
One of old associate of Mr Edhi said that “having read Marx and being a strong believer, both intellect
and spirituality provided him with a good reason to believe in the higher cause he wanted to pursue.
Edhi realized that there will always be injustice in society and that therefore every society needs people
who show compassion and care for others”. Based on his readings, Edhi said that he became very
passionate about the revolution and was excited about the struggle for Pakistan. He started to follow
newspapers and books on Mahatma Gandhi and M Ali Jinnah. Another personality that fascinated Edhi
was Abuzar Ghafafri, a companion of Prophet Muhammad. Edhi explains why: “Abuzar Ghaffari had very
strong faith. He never hesitated to criticize wealthy Muslims if they showed off their wealth instead of
helping others. Abuzar Ghafafri was an extremely modest and humble person. Abuzar Ghaffari was the
person who demanded social reform during the third Muslim Khalifa”. Edhi had also read about Ghaffar
12 Market (transl.)13 Mazloom refres to under-privileged and deprived people.14 Zalim are individuals or groups of people suppressing others and denying them their basic rights and privileges which have been granted by society or religion.15 Zakaat is an Islamic concept of annual donations. At the end of each year every Muslim is expected to donate 2.5 % from his total annual income.
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Khan’s Khudai Khidmatgar Party whose members were inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. They travelled
from village to village and door to door to solve people’s problems and help them in any way they could.
Edhi’s intellectual development was strongly influenced by his readings. According to Edhi himself “he
was able to develop links between the present realities and the lives of his role models, his heroes. He
never thought of himself as an educated or intellectual person. What he was looking for in these books
was a reference for his own life. He wanted to learn about the mission of those extraordinary people
and what drove them”.
The seeds for social ideas and humanitarian work had already been planted in Edhi by his mother; Edhi
himself cultivated them and now asked himself where he should plough the fields in Pakistan. After Edhi
family had moved to Karachi, his father started working as a commission agent in a cloth shop. It was
then that his father gave Edhi enough money to start his own business. Edhi recounts “I purchased
pencils, matchboxes and towels from the wholesale market. I arranged them in a tray and started my
business venture in the Jodia bazaar in Karachi. Edhi Said “this early business training helped me to learn
how to use my time better and who my customers are and who the people are who waste my time”.
After several months of saving Edhi rented a cart and started a Pan business on it. Day and night, he
parked the cart next to the building he lived in and sold Pan. He became ever more skilful and soon he
mastered packing three pans in one minute. “My father held the view that I should learn how to earn
money through hard work. He wanted me to move up from the bottom in the business, because when
someone is up he does not come down to learn”, tells Edhi. Next, he started selling news newspapers in
the morning and delivering milk. After his work as an independent businessman, he accepted
employment from a cloth merchant, and earned three hundred Rupees a month, half of which he gave
to his mother and half of which he kept for himself.
Edhi’s first chance of organized social work came in 1949 when a charitable organization was established
by Bantva Memons named as Bantva Memons Khidmat Committee in Mithadar, Karachi. Under this
organization, the Bantva Memon Dispensary16 was established, and Sattar Edhi started as a volunteer
worker. Edhi was very happy. During the day he worked as a commission agent in the cloth market, and
at night he was at the dispensary.
According to Edhi’s wife “Edhi was deeply upset about a number of things related to dispensary. First,
there was the fact that Memons divided themselves into small communities each of which would only
16 In Pakistan, a dispensary is a combination of a pharmacy (profit or non-profit) and an ambulant care facility with a nurse or a doctor.
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be serving its own members. Second, the Bantva Memon Dispensary was charging fees for medicines
from non-Memon patients while Memons received them for free. From Edhi’s point of view this was
unfair and unjust. He was of the view that all Memon groups should work together and serve poor
people regardless of their race, cast, religion, or ethnicity. In this the first major challenge presented
itself to young Edhi’s ideas and beliefs. He realized that his ideas were in conflict with the approach of
powerful, rich Seth. He was dissatisfied with the existing situation, but also doubtful if he should accept
challenge the system. He decided to go against the prevalent belief system, disobeying their rules and
criticized the managing committee. As a result, Edhi was asked to leave the dispensary”. Edhi stills speak
with conviction when he says: “I tried my best to explain to the elders that humanitarian work loses its
value when we discriminate against poor people because they’re outsiders”. According to Edhi “Allah
does not differentiate between Muslims, Hindus, Blacks or Whites, Allah gives, listens and looks after
everyone, therefore, when it comes to humanitarian work, we have no right to differentiate between
the needy ourselves”. According to Edhi’s wife “Edhi’s life was made difficult by the community elders.
He was not only removed from the community, but they also started using their influence to stop him
from working in the social sector”. According to Edhi, his father’s words were: “The only way to fight
back is to ignore them and the only way to win over them is to keep doing your work and prove it well”.
Edhi soon realized that it would be waste of energy and time to respond to their allegations and actions.
The best strategy would be to focus on the real task which was equitable humanitarian work. Edhi’s
father endorsed him by saying to him: “It is my experience that honest people should not take favours
and enter into partnerships with those astray”. Edhi never forgot this advice. According to an old
associate of Edhi “during this major crisis Edhi was able to connect to his core values and beliefs, he
accepted the challenge rather than accepting the situation”.
Edhi’s Mother’s Poor Health and Edhi’s Transformation
In 1951 Edhi spent 2,300 Rupees from his personal savings and bought a tiny shop of only in Mithadar,
Karachi and called it Memon Voluntary Corporation. In order to satisfy official regulations about
membership, he asked ten local boys to volunteer to join this organization. At the same time, he
immediately also asked for their resignation after the official purpose was served so that they would not
be able to create any problems or interfere with his plans for the organization. The Corporation was to
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be a free dispensary for everyone in need. He hired a doctor to work in the dispensary and soon people
started to come in increasing numbers. The dispensary was never closed: Edhi used to sleep on the
bench outside the dispensary and was always on his heels whenever someone needed help.
Nevertheless, he continued to work as a commission agent to earn income. From his experience at the
dispensary came even more energy and creativity and so in 1952 he bought more rooms above the
dispensary and opened a maternity home. His observations of poor women in the area convinced him
that they needed help. Many had suffered from childbirth or, in many other cases; it was the newborn
children who had health problems from the lack of medical infant care. According to Edhi’s wife Edhi
was always looking for new ways to help poor and old people in need and he would learn new skills to
implement the new idea”.
After the launch of maternity home Edhi in 1954 started midwife training courses with the help of an
experienced doctor at the maternity home. This was a major challenge both financially and concerning
the nature of work. Young women were given three months training and were asked to work for three
months in the maternity home in return. After six months, they were granted a certificate and they
could go and work anywhere or start their own maternity homes. When young women started to
graduate and move on start their own Edhi was content – he had helped people to help others.
According to an old subordinate of Edhi “after success of maternity home and midwife training project,
community elders and Memon Seth increased their propaganda against Edhi. Edhi said “sometimes i was
wondering how to cope with the opposition from my own community people”.
Later, in 1956/1957 he decided to follow one of his dreams and travel the world. He took a bus to Iran,
and then travelled onwards to Turkey, then to France and other European countries. Edhi himself fondly
recalls an episode when he met a girl on a train in Turkey. Despite the fact that they both spoke little
English, they communicated and connected. The girl was beautiful and she happened to like Edhi. They
enjoyed each other's company and shared food which she had brought with her. It was not long before
they talked about marriage and Edhi realized how after a long time he was experiencing love again. Edhi
said that “he thought about his first love in Bantva and treasured his travel companion’s beauty which
made the journey all the more memorable for him. He realized how love helped him to bring out his
kindness and sensibility”. However, they split and he continued to travel. As much as Edhi likes to
remember this episode, Edhi said “he also quickly sensed a weakness in himself that beautiful women
could be a major distraction for him, which he should try to control in the future”. Seeing how Europe
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developed after a devastating World War II, Edhi reflected a lot about Pakistan, it’s future and his own
organization’s future.
When Edhi returned to Mithadar, Karachi, new allegations were waiting for him that he had stolen
money from the donation box of the dispensary and the maternity home for his personal travels. He
reacted immediately by changing the name of the dispensary to Madina Volunteer Corporation, so that
it would not be connected with the Memons anymore. Then, he made it a policy and informed everyone
at the dispensary that anyone who is not satisfied with his organization’s work would be returned their
donation money. Not a single person ever claimed even one Rupee.
Unfortunately, soon after Edhi’s return to Pakistan his mother developed a serious illness. He decided to
completely stop working as a commission agent and continued to work only at the dispensary. He
needed very little money for his own living and had enough from his savings. In addition, he still had
money from when his father had retired and had decided to distribute his wealth and property among
his sons. According to Edhi “he took his mother for treatments, he cleaned her room, he washed her
cloths along with his own, and he cooked food for her and for his brother. When she would rest he went
to the dispensary to continue his work there”. Several times he took her to a hospital in a Rickshaw as
no ambulance service was available for common people in Karachi. One day while he was at the
dispensary, his mother fell at home where he found her on the floor much later, paralysed. After this
and for the next 18 months Edhi took even better care of her. “I used to joke with my mother that now
she had turned into my child just like I was her child once”, Edhi recalls. “She felt sad, helpless and guilty
as she thought of her as a burden to the family. But I always told her that she is my responsibility and I
love her and will look after her and will never let anyone else do this job for me”.
According to Edhi's wife, Bilquise Edhi; “Edhi Saab17 used an eye bandage to cover his eyes while taking
her to the washroom and while cleaning her up”.
When Edhi’s mother died, Edhi said that “She gave birth to me and she was my most precious teacher.
She taught me humanitarian values and how to appreciate other human beings. And she shared her
illness with me by letting see her misery, her feelings of helplessness and lost dignity”.
Edhi said that “his mother's life was a perfect example of personal sacrifices and of modesty. Her whole
life was a struggle, and yet she remained positive and kind to others throughout her life. Even when she
17 In Urdu, Saab is a polite and respectful way of addressing men, usually the heads of families or business owners; the female equivalent in Urdu is Begum Saab.
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was critically ill, she remained committed to her moral standards. She was not a very religious person in
the traditional sense and had only little knowledge of Islam but her faith provided her with some kind of
a natural spiritual bounding with Allah”. Speaking about her, Edhi relieves the pain over the loss of his
mother and stops speaking for a minute before he continues: “She taught me charity when I was a child,
she taught me the love for humanity, and after her death I decided that my whole life should be
dedicated to the service to humanity”.
According to an old associate of Edhi “Edhi self transformation was for a social mission and not for
himself, he changed his life style for his mission. People do change but mostly for themselves but Edhi
changed for others”.
When Edhi was later asked about how he managed the challenges he was facing from within his
community he said: “I believed that Allah is with me in my work. I am fighting the struggle of Mazloom
against Zalim. The problems and difficulties I faced in my work were almost the same. I simply believe
that humanitarian work is the ultimate purpose for me and I must do it”. Edhi further explained that
“the examples like Imam Hussain and Abuzar Ghaffari provide me with spiritual energy; their stories give
me strength and courage to face challenges both in my personal and in my professional life”.
Edhi wife said that Edhi strongly believes that his ideas and his social mission are related to the missions
of his heroes. Therefore, he could not be stopped doing his work by any person no matter how
insurmountable the difficulties seemed. And not only that, throughout challenging times, he never lost
his positive attitude and confident outlook. Edhi said: "While facing major challenges from opponents, I
decided that I will never give anybody reason to challenge my integrity or my lifestyle. I have decided
that I will never spend extra time or money on myself or my family. I have only three pairs of clothes,
one pair of plastic Chappal18, one Jinnah Cap and I sleep on the wooden bench in my dispensary, so that
people can see my life completely”. One of old subordinate added that “the more his opponents
criticized him the more committed he became to his mission and the more Edhi reduced his material
needs. In the end, this simple life along with his humanitarian vision has made him the Sattar Edhi he is
today”. Edhi’s wife adds to this; “Edhi Saab mother’s death was the most important event in his life. She
was the one who prepared him for humanitarian work and for serving the helpless, the poor, the
elderly, the special children, and even animals”.
18 Bathroom slippers (transl.)
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After the passing of his mother, Edhi bought an old wagon with the donation from a friend and
converted it into an ambulance. This was the first ambulance service for poor people and he called it the
“Poor People's Van”. He did not charge for the ambulance service. Only when people insisted to pay for
it they were told that they could come to the office and drop money in a box outside the dispensary. He
also changed the organization's name to Edhi Welfare Organization as he felt that since he is responsible
for his own activities and decisions, therefore it is better that organization be named after him. Soon he
was able to increase the reach of his services and because of the ambulance more and more people got
to know about Edhi’s organization and services. It also provided him with the freedom to spend
resources in the ways he wanted in order to start new initiatives and projects of which he thought that
they were most urgent. He even started a funeral service which picked up human bodies found in the
sea, in rivers, in gutters or at the roadside. Sometimes he would pick them up himself even when even
the family members did not dare to touch them anymore. He would bring these bodies to Mithadar,
wash them and provide a proper burial service, just like he had done for his mother. According to an
observer of Edhi foundation “the ambulance service and funeral services provided excellent opportunity
for Edhi foundation to grow in all over Pakistan, since there was no other organization doing this and
government system was almost absent. Hence Edhi foundation become a major service provider”.
An Insight into Edhi’s Personal Vision and Mission
As Edhi established the dispensary, followed by the maternity home, and then the ambulance services,
funeral services and he needed ever more people to work with him. According to Edhi “he kept
searching for people who could take initiative, make quick decisions, and work hard. He would not
tolerate people who were slow or lazy, unethical or negative, and thus brought shame to his
organization. He wanted the most excellent work from everyone. Edhi Son said “employees are scared
of him, since he is very demanding when it comes to work. However, his demands never seem
outrageous to anybody as he is demanding the same from himself”. Edhi’s wife, Bilquise Edhi, explains:
“When we make mistakes in our work, he gets very angry and even threatens that he will leave us. But
since he himself is so committed and works so much people respect him so they continue to give their
best”. “Hajee Saab”, she continues, “is very committed to his work. He is disciplined and a very positive
person. He never gets irritated even when things get very gloomy, when is criticised or sometimes even
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when his life is threatened. It is through the example which he sets that everyone in the organization. He
never wastes time or energy in responding to allegations. He simply stays focused, and he advises his
friends and employees to do the same. He says, just keep on doing your work and Allah will reward you,
because you are doing this work for Allah not for the people who are against us.”
According to Edhi himself his mission is “to serve humanity regardless of religion, race, and
background”. And, he adds, “I want to simply provide health services, food and shelter to poor people
when they need it. Why should ill persons not have medicines or an ambulance or a doctor available
when they need it just because they are poor? Poor and Mazloom people have a right to these things
like any other person of wealth or status”. Explaining his mission Edhi continues, “I have observed that
religion brings people together but Zalim (Seth) divide people for one reason only: so that they can
continue to have cheap labour. Religion teaches us to be fair and treat people with equality, but Zalim is
never fair and never does justice to people. All religions teach of service to mankind, especially Islam
teaches its followers that Huquq-ul-Ibaad is your first responsibility but Zalim never fulfilled it. To me
this was not acceptable and I decided that I will fight for the Mazloom through my social and
humanitarian work. Serving the Mazloom is just like praying”. Edhi’s wife confirms the spiritual nature
of his work: “Edhi Saab works very hard, with complete honesty and with his full capacity. He strongly
believes that results come from Allah, therefore there is good in failure and there is good in success.
Edhi Saab just would never stop trying”.
Gradually, Edhi trust in his own work was growing day by day. He needed more funds but the
contributions he was getting from the Charity Box in the dispensary were not enough. So he devised a
new strategy for increasing his funding base. He started to collect skins of animals sacrificed on Eid 19
and sell them commercially. Next, Edhi started buying cheap skins from shops which he would re-sell at
higher prices to tanneries and manufacturers of leather goods. It was his business acumen that helped
him to develop new strategies to provide his social mission with a constant flow of the necessary
financial recourses. Very soon, they also started to receive all types of donations: Zakaat, Sadikat20,
Khairat21, and donations in kind -people would drop anything they could afford. Edhi even collected
money by begging on the streets. Just like a regular beggar as Edhi said “he wanted to educate the
people of his nation to learn to give charity and to contribute to the social mission”. Interestingly, he
19 The traditional New Year’s celebration at spring equinox.20 Sadikat is an Islamic concept of donations by wealthy people in order to help less fortunate family members and friends.21 Khairat is an Islamic concept of charity in order to help less fortunate people in society.
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said that he decided not to take donations from rich Seth for his foundation, because he felt that they
wanted to interfere in the organization for their personal interests and that they wanted publicity for
their charity in return.
Once he collected 1.2 million Rupees in Lahore in one day only. This donation was for a young student
who was a cancer patient and needed 2.0 million Rupees for his cancer treatment in the United
Kingdom. After friends of his had collected only 800,000 Rupees and were short of money, Edhi went to
Lahore Mall Road along with the student’s friends and decided that they would not leave before they
had collected the whole amount.
According to Edhi when he starts a new project he never wastes time on thinking and planning, he
would immediately start with small actions. Once completed, he would reflect, collect feedback and try
to improve his performance for better results. He continues an activity or a project only as long as it is
working. As soon as it becomes useless or ineffective, he changes the original idea radically and restarts
with full energy. Energy also comes from the support of his wife to who he got married in 1966, after
eight other girls refused marriage proposals from him because of his lifestyle and his work. She first
started working at Edhi’s maternity home as a helper, and after their wedding she continued to help
Edhi in the overall work and development of the foundation. She also continues to look after the
maternity home and the child adoption activities of the Edhi Foundation. She is always with him in every
critical situation both inside and outside of Pakistan.
The Foundation’s Present Organization and Future Challenges
In 1970 Edhi decided to take part in national parliamentary elections as as an independent candidate.
His honest intention was to push his reform agenda into national politics, which failed to draw enough
votes. Edhi didn’t have time to ponder about the loss, as the 1971 war between Pakistan and India
provided him with enough work. Endless streams of dead bodies were brought to his maternity home in
Karachi for cleaning and burial. His wife recalls that they were initially afraid not to be able to deal with
the large numbers of bodies in their small maternity home. But again, it was Edhi Saab who showed
everyone what’s possible by helping personally and by encouraging everyone to do their work. Another
challenge the organization faced was in 1972 when Northern Pakistan was struck by a major earthquake.
Edhi instantly decided to take a team of doctors and volunteers to the region that was hardest hit.
Thereby, Edhi was able to set an example for other social and charity organizations to set up camps in
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the earthquake areas. It was in the same year that Edhi’s father died, a major loss for Edhi. “When I
came back from the earthquake region in Northern Pakistan”, Edhi recalls, “my uncle called and
informed me that my father had had a heart attack. I hurried, but by the time I reached his home he had
already passed away”. Another year went by and Edhi’s organization was now a well known organization
all over Pakistan.
In 1973 there was a major flood in Pakistan which most severely affected the provinces of Sind and
Baluchistan. Edhi’s organization had already been present in these areas and quickly Edhi developed a
supply chain from Karachi to these areas. In the same year Edhi and his wife decided to go to Haji, an
annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mekka. They went in an ambulance of his. Again, this was more than just a
trip for Edhi, it was another opportunity for personal growth. Edhi: “Seeing rich and poor, white and
black living and eating from the same food, I asked myself why we couldn’t have the same culture of
sharing and belonging in our country, Pakistan”. Upon his return from Mekka Edhi decided to go Iran to
visit the tomb of Imam Hussain and pay his respects to his spiritual master. To date, he recalls one of his
schoolteachers to say that “the death of Imam Hussain is not just a mere event in Muslim history. It is a
universal reality which helps the weak and the deprived to take a stand and struggle against the
powerful and unjust social forces”.
Before 1978 the organization had been registered as Abdul Sattar Edhi Trust under the Pakistan Trust
Act of 1886. There were several trustees involved including Edhi’s brother. In 1978, the trustees started
to take growing influence on the day to day operations of the organization. Edhi's younger brother was
leading a number of trustees in the attempt to remove Edhi from the Edhi Trust. At one instance Edhi's
younger brother even started a physical fight with Edhi, while other trustees started legal proceedings
against Edhi in which he prevailed in 1979. During the whole period Sattar Edhi was extremely stressed
and, for the first time, there were even thoughts of suicide. He had never expected his biological brother
to act against him in the described manner. Then, after 1979 Edhi converted the Trust into the income-
tax exempt Abdul Sattar Edhi Foundation. There are seven members in the foundation, including
himself, his wife as well as his two sons and two daughters. On the positive side, the described conflict
had transformed the Edhi Foundation from a welfare trust into an international humanitarian
organization. Edhi decided that he will never again have trustees and people other than his own family
members in the organization. Plus, the experience also opened new growth possibilities for Edhi's social
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mission. The foundation provided him with a bigger platform to extend his humanitarian ideas and
services not only in Pakistan but also internationally22.
Faisal Edhi, the younger son of Mr Edhi joined organization in 1996 and since then implemented several
projects. Before he joined the organization in Karachi as a volunteer, he had some outside experience
and training in ambulance operations. Based on his expertise he started to develop processes and
systems in the ambulance operations area immediately after he joined. According to Faisal Edhi “the
external environment and dynamics within the ambulance service area is becoming more and more
competitive, technology driven and quality oriented.” He believes that the quality of well trained staff
and the quality of the equipment used are becoming important factors for any emergency operator,
especially in large cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Peshawar etc. Hence it was a big
challenge for Edhi foundation to transform the organization structure, develop operational systems,
develop well trained professional staff and buy costly equipment. He said: “For instance, we had no
record system for our ambulance, and almost 50 % of the revenues were lost from ambulance
operations. Therefore, we started ambulance log books which allowed us to monitor travel time and
distance for ambulances. It was a very successful project.” Furthermore, all Edhi centres were connected
through wireless communication systems which helped in coordinating emergency activities. In addition,
an inventory management and motor parts purchasing systems were implemented. Now, for the first
time, the organization knows how much each ambulance costs per month. If there are abnormalities
they can now be identified and corrective actions can be taken. Recently the Foundation also started to
keep records of the staff. Previously there was nothing except a copy of the national identity card. But
now records of all staff such members on education, age, training, background, prior experience and
more are kept. Also, new layers in the organization were added which not only helped to improve
performance and bypass inefficiencies, but also breeds a new generation of managers.
Despite all new professionalization of the organization, it still relies heavily on honorary volunteers. In
some cities, such as Gujranwala, Faisalabad or Sialkot, the centers are run by “honorary in-charges”.
Faisal Edhi says: “it is like in a municipal organization where the workers and staff consist of paid civil
servants, but the organization is headed by an elected volunteer, the mayor”. These honorary in-charges
are purely selected on the basis of their unbiased views towards social and humanitarian work and their
level of financial stability. Most of these honorary in-charges are successful business persons. Also,
Faisal Edhi considers it most important that the Edhi foundation transforms itself, especially the
22 See exhibit 4 for some examples.
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management mindset towards future directions and vision. Besides keeping the flow of donations
constant, other future external challenges may include terrorist attacks from nationalist and terrorist
groups, according to Faisal Edhi. Faisal Edhi further said “God forbid, if something happened to Edhi
Saab, my mother Bilquise Edhi would be the next person in line to lead this social mission of Edhi Saab”.
One challenge which Abdul Sattar Edhi clearly recognizes himself is the lack of well educated and
professional people coming to his organization. According to Edhi “educated young men are not coming
to welfare work, only women are coming”. He attributes that to the fact that women generally are
more compassionate and caring than men. Edhi further said that “I am a very authoritarian type person
and I managed this organization through centralized decision-making. I decide each and every financial
issue, no matter how large or small. But in the future this may not work for the organization. Since the
Edhi Foundation is becoming an ever larger and more complex organization, it has many different
operations and these different operations require different sets of roles and responsibilities, different
sets of competencies and skills to manage them. Therefore, the next generation of family members will
have to develop different systems and approaches at the top level of the organization in order to
manage those challenges”. He further added that “my main role will be to make sure that foundation is
financially sustainable in the future”.
One outside observer of the organization’s history and it’s development sees many challenges , the lack
of competent and professional human resources, the lack of integrated operating systems in the
organization, the financial budgeting or the planning function, and certainly the need for passion for
humanitarian work”. According to Edhi himself “the future challenge would be how much his children
have the passion for humanitarian work”. He further said “he wants them to follow truth, hard work,
honesty, discipline, simplicity and non conflicting attitude towards opposition”.
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Bibliography
1. Abbas. Rifat, (1996), Abdul Sattar Edhi, Jung Publisher, Karachi, Pakistan. 2. Abdul Sattar Edhi Trust (Eds.) (1976), Abdul Sattar Edhi’s 25 years Services, Karachi, Pakistan. 3. Durrani. T, (2006), Abdul Sattar Edhi – A Mirror – to the Blind An Autobiography, A. Sattar Edhi
Foundation, Karachi, Pakistan. 4. Edhi Foundation Website www.edhifoundation.com
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Exhibit 1: EDHI OFFICES AND CENTERS 23
National Offices
EDHI HEAD OFFICE ZONAL OFFICE KARACHI ZONAL OFICE QUETTA ZONAL OFFICE MULTAN ZONAL OFFICE FAISALABAD ZONAL OFFICE LAHORE ZONAL OFFICE ISLAMABAD 4 Edhi Centers Islamabad 12 Edhi Centers in the province of NWFP 68 Edhi Centers in the province of Punjab 62 Edhi Centers in the province of Sindh 5 Edhi Centers in the province of Balochistan 2 Edhi Centers in the province of Azad Jammu and Kashmir 2 Edhi Centers in the province of Fata
International Offices
London, U.K Toronto, Canada
23 Source: The date was provided by Mr. Faisal Edhi during interview session
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Exhibit 2: EDHI HOMES24
Centre DoctorsNurses
Dispenser Peons Drivers Staff Patients
01 Edhi Home For Children (Mithadar) 4+4 N19+Disp4 24 10 34 30002 Edhi Home Female Child(New Clifton) 1 Nurses 2 4 2 22 30003 Edhi Home (Qasba) On Call 2 20004 Edhi Home For Women (N. Karachi) 2 Nurses7 12 1 2 200005 Edhi Home For Children (Korangi) On Call 4 35 8 10006 Edhi Home For Children (Village) 2 Disp. 1 7 12 30007 Edhi Home For Elders (Village) 2+1 Disp. 3 21 5 32 150008 Edhi Home For Children (Sohrab Goth) 3 Disp. 2 28 47 27 4009 Edhi Home For Elders (Sohrab Goth) 4 10 50010 Edhi Home (Peshawar) 4 2011 Edhi Home (Quetta) On Call 3 4 1 2012 Edhi Home (Islamabad) On Call Disp. 1 2 20 15013 Edhi Home (Gilgit) 1 114 Edhi Home (Lahore) On Call 1 6 5015 Edhi Home (Gulberg, Lahore) 1 Disp. 2 5 30 4 6016 Edhi Home (Kala Shah Kaku Lahore) 6 52 317 Edhi Home For Male (Multan) 1 Disp. 1 9 1 3 20018 Edhi Home For Female (Multan) 1 Disp. 1 9 1 3 5019 Bilquis Edhi Cancer Hospital 5 3 3 12 9 15
24 Source: Faisal Edhi, personal interview
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Exhibit 3: ABDUL SATTAR EDHI’S AWARDS25
National awards
1989: Nishan-e-Imtiaz from Government of Pakistan 1989: Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Government of Pakistan, Recognition of meritorious
services to oppressed humanity during the eighties, 45 Years Of Selfless Service. 1989: Government of Sind, The Social Worker of Sub-Continent 1992: Pakistan Civic Society, Pakistan Civic Award 1995: Human Rights Award by Pakistan Human Rights Society. 1998: Khidmat Award by Pakistan Academy of Medical Sciences. 1999: Shield of Honour by Pakistan Army (E & C) 1999: Silver Jubilee Shield by College of Physicians and Surgeons, Pakistan
International awards
1986: Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service 1988: Lenin Peace Prize 1992: Paul Harris Fellow Rotary International Foundation 2000: International Balzan Prize for Humanity, Peace and Brotherhood. 2000: Largest Voluntary Ambulance Organization of the World - Guinness Book of World Records
2000: Hamdan Award for volunteers in Humanitarian Medical Services 2000 UAE
2000: International Balzan Prize 2000 for Humanity, Peace and Brotherhood, Italy
2005: Life Time Achievement Award by the World Memon Organisation (WMO). 2006: Honorary Doctorate by the Institute of Business Administration Karachi (IBA)
25 Source: The date was provided by Mr. Faisal Edhi during interview session
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Exhibit 4: INTERNATIONAL SERVICES DETAILS26
Aid to Afghan refugees Since 1978. Relief to the needy in the civil war in Lebanon during 1983. Rupees 0.5 million for flood relief in Bangladesh during 1986. In addition an ambulance was also
Provided. Rupees one million in aid to the drought and famine-stricken areas in Ethiopia during 1985. Aid to earthquake victims of Armenia, USSR during year 1989. Aid for the affected people and refugees of Persian Gulf War during 1991 in the form of blood,
plasma, medicines and surgical instruments, etc., worth approximately Rs.4.5 million. Aid to earthquake victims of North-Western Iran during 1990. Continuous relief goods including tents, clothing, blankets and rations for refugees in Azad
Kashmir. Relief aid to Kurd refugees. Financial and travel assistance to the stranded Pakistanis in Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War
in 1992. Aid during the earthquake in Cairo 1992. Efforts for the release of prisoners and detainees involved in minor immigration irregularities in
Iraq and Romania during 1993-94. Supply of rice and edibles to Mogadishu in Somalia during 1993 in collaboration with the
Pakistan Army. Relief supplies for Bosnian refugees in Pakistan and supply of relief goods and assistance in
Croatian Camps during 1993-94. Relief goods, edibles supplied to Afghan refugees in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, during 1994. Continuous relief operations including provision of transportation facilities to Bosnian refugees
during 1993-94. Relief activities conducted in Croatian camps for Bosnian people durin 1993-94. Evacuation and relief for plague victims in Saurat (India) during 1994. Provision of blood bags for Japanese earthquake victims during 1994.
26 Source: The date was provided by Mr. Faisal Edhi during interview session
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