Abdul Sattar Edhi

Abdul Sattar Edhi was a Pakistani humanitarian, philanthropist and ascetic who founded the Edhi Foundation, which runs the world's largest ambulance network, along with homeless shelters, animal shelters, rehabilitation centres, and orphanages across Pakistan. He was known as the "Angel of Mercy" and the "richest poor man". He dedicated his life to helping the poor, the sick, the disabled, and the marginalized. He was born in Bantva, a small town in Gujarat, India, to a Memon Muslim family. He moved to Pakistan in 1947, after the partition of India. He started his charitable work by opening a free dispensary in Karachi, with the help of his wife Bilquis Edhi, who was a nurse. He later bought his first ambulance, a second-hand van, which he drove himself to help the injured and the needy. He expanded his services by collecting donations from the public and establishing the Edhi Foundation, a non-profit organization that operates on the principles of simplicity, honesty, hard work and punctuality. He also adopted and raised thousands of orphaned children, whom he considered as his own. He was a strong proponent of religious tolerance and human rights. He helped the victims of natural disasters, wars, famines, epidemics, and terrorist attacks, both in Pakistan and abroad. He was nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize, and received many national and international awards and honors, such as the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, the Lenin Peace Prize, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, and the Gandhi Peace Award. He died in 2016, at the age of 88, after suffering from kidney failure for several months. He was buried with full state honors, and millions of people attended his funeral. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest humanitarians of all time.