It were the mid 1980s. I was not yet a teenager. And one warm night in Lahore, I listened to this elderly man, give a passionate speech. He sported a long white beard and wore ragged black
kamiz shalwar, and in a soft but stern voice, he declared, “I will build a network of health centers over the 1500 km main highway connecting Karachi to Peshawar. And after every 50 kilometers there will be a small basic health center manned by an ambulance. These services are for all mankind free of cost.”
Everyone around me had incredulous looks.
“It cannot be done!”
“It cannot be managed!”
“It will be a white elephant!”
The cries could be heard from every nook and corner of the country. After all, he relied only on charity and that too from individuals. He had no personal sources of financing this ambitious project, nor did he have backing of a large corporation. Not even the government, not at least financially. How can he do it?
Yet, his humble but determined personality and a strong conviction of his ideals made me wonder, can he really do it?
In between that some twenty odd years have passed. And since that time, the world around us has changed for the good. And today, if you drive along the Grand Trunk Road in Pakistan, you will notice small but clearly marked health centers every 50 kilometers which are manned by volunteers and notice a small ambulance parked outside. In fact, his ambitious and grand project has gone beyond the Grand Trunk Highway in Pakistan. His established network now owns and manages over 700 ambulances which also includes two airplanes and helicopters. His vast network of ambulances on average transports over 1 million people annually in Pakistan alone and is extremely critical for rual communities considering that 70% of Pakistanis do not have access to a doctor. And all of it is being sustained by, now get this, by individual donors and charity given by folks like you and me. Yes, no corporate schmoozing involved! Today, it is ranked as the largest free ambulance service in the world. And the man, rather a modern day Saint, who made this dream possible is Abdul Sattar Edhi.
Edhi Center with an ambulance parked outside
His Edhi Foundation, (established in 1951 in the city of Karachi, Pakistan) seems to be breaking all the norms of what we have been taught about raising funds for the non-profit sector. There are no elaborate business plans. Nor any documents being submitted for funding to any world bodies. There are no stunning power point presentations pushing their vision onto the donors baskets. None of that at all. He has one simple plan. Do something good for the humanity.
He and his wife, Mrs Bilquees Edhi, are always at the forefront themselves. Always leading by example and in times of disasters, always there even before the likes of Red Cross, United Nations or Governments themselves. And it is not just the foundation and volunteers who get there first, it is Mr. Edhi and his wife who are the first to reach the site of the disaster, be it at any part of Pakistan, and at times in the world. And to see him work day and night and live among the victims where he eats, sleeps and works humbles us all. Here is a saint, nay, someone far greater.
The gentle folks of Pakistan and from neighboring countries donate in droves. His network never runs out of money and his ambulances are never without gas or spare parts. They service a community whom the world in general and the local government in particular has forgotten. His army of volunteers can be marshaled at a minutes notice without the need of elaborate communication mechanism. And together, they are changing the way care is provided to the needy. His actions and plans are redefining the non-profit sector and hopefully for the good.
Today, Edhi foundation is the most trusted name in Pakistan when it comes to donation. Almost every penny is spent on the poor with hardly any overheads. Edhi foundation is a non-profit organization that specializes in providing medical care, emergency and relief services, air ambulances, burial services, mental habitats, old homes, child welfare services, abused women safe houses and training facilities for the disadvantage.
He is an inspiration to millions like me. He had a vision and backed it up with his unwavering determination. He believes in the general good among us all. And we believe in what he can deliver and donate to his work in hoards. He has proven by example how unexpected things can be achieved.
For more information about Edhi or his foundation, check out the following links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edhi_Foundationhttp://www.edhifoundation.com/
Greg Mortenson is an American hailing from small town of Bozeman, Montana. Yet, he is one of the most revered personalities in Northern Pakistan. In the past fifteen years that he has worked in the Baltistan and NWFP region (Northern Pakistan bordering Afghanistan to the west, China to the North and India to the east), he has impacted the society in a way no other foreigner has been able to do for the last two millennium. He has given the children of Northern Pakistan a unique gift that their ancestors never had. Education. Building over 63 schools at the roof of the world and in the shadow of K2, the world's second tallest mountain, he has transformed the lives of villagers and especially women through his Central Asian Institute (CAI).
