On Friday, Pakistan lost a humanitarian, activist, philanthropist and awe inspiring human. Mr. Abdul Sattar Edhi founded the Edhi Foundation, a non-profit social welfare organization. This foundation provides several services: for example, land, air and sea ambulances, healthcare, education, and orphanages.
No words, certainly not mine, could ever be enough to describe Mr. Edhi’s work, document his achievements, or even comprehend the staggering number of lives that he touched.
Instead, I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight what struck me most about Mr. Edhi: he held the same standards for himself as he held for those that needed assistance from his welfare organization. If he needed an ambulance, he would use the same service that he provided for the general public.
Many Pakistanis are willing to donate money towards giving a child an education, but would they provide their own child with that same education? Many donate towards hospitals, but would they be comfortable receiving the medical treatment that they fund? I myself taught the Pakistani curriculum at a tutoring center but studied in the British system at the same time.
“Treat others the way you would want to be treated." I hear that phrase every so often, but Mr. Edhi truly embodied it. In a country where some of the most patriotic politicians have foreign passports, that level of connection is rare. The concept that if something is good enough for the poor, then it’s good enough for everyone isn’t something that resonates loud enough, and maybe that’s the idea that can push social welfare further.
This caught my attention when I read that Mr. Edhi declined an offer to receive medical treatment for kidney failure abroad. This offer was made by a former President of Pakistan, but Mr. Edhi preferred treatment in his own country. Many people thought about this occurrence in terms of his connection to Pakistan, but it demonstrates more than patriotism. It demonstrates that Mr. Edhi did not think of himself as more deserving than any other patient in a hospital like the many that he founded. In other words, he walked the walk. Even the Wikipedia article on him says that he owned two pairs of clothes (and has a section on his frequent detention during international travel, which we should also talk about sometimes).
Some people say that Mr. Edhi put Pakistan above everything else, including his lifestyle. But he did more than that. He put humanity above everything else. It was not about nationality, religion, or some such division. It simply came down to being human. In fact, the Edhi Foundation has offered a variety of international services, for example it sent $100,000 to the U.S. in aid to relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina (2005).
Keeping Mr. Edhi’s egalitarianism in mind, the next time I participate monetarily or otherwise in some sort of volunteer or social welfare service, I will ask myself “would I feel comfortable availing such a service?” If so, it’s probably a great idea to participate. If not, then maybe I should be doing something more.
