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Jul 20, 2016

"For it is in giving that we receive." --St. Francis of Assisi

A Tribute to Pakistan's Angel of Mercy

Amidst the violence and chaos of Karachi, there is a ray of hope: Pakistani philanthropist, humanitarian and a man of grit and strength, Abdul Sattar Edhi. Born in 1928 in Bantawa, Gujarat, India, he later migrated to Pakistan in 1947. From a very young age his mother taught him to be kind towards others. Each day, she would give him two paisa - one to spend on himself, and one on someone less fortunate. Started with a mere Rs.5000 (approximately $55.56) the Edhi Foundation runs the world's largest ambulance service and operates free nursing homes, orphanages, clinics, women shelters, rehab centers for drug addicts and mentally ill individuals, to name a few of the many services. One of the most trusted men in Pakistan, Edhi's Foundation has modified the phrase "Live and Let Live" to "Live and Help Live." Postscript: Abdul Sattar Edhi passed away on 8 July 2016, after a long illness, at the age of 88. Edhi was given a state funeral, but buried in the clothes he died in, and buried in the Edhi Cemetary in the outskirts of Karachi in a grave he dug himself several years earlier - true to his ascetic lifestyle even in death.