Early Days of the Edhi Trust

The spirit of the Edhi foundation was born when Abdul Sattar Edhi was a child. At the tender age of eleven, Edhi's mother became paralyzed and mentally ill. Young Abdul Sattar Edhi devoted himself to her care and took on the role of feeding, bathing, and clothing her daily. Her deteriorating mental and physical condition left a lasting impact on Edhi's mind. As a result, he dropped out of High School and strictly focused on his mother's health. Edhi's mother died when he was nineteen. His mother's death made him reflect on other fellow Pakistanis who were suffering from similar illnesses. After his family moved to Pakistan in 1947, Edhi established a free dispensary with the help of other community members. His vision for establishing and improving the healthcare sector in Pakistan enabled him to establish a personal welfare trust for the people called "Edhi Trust". 

With the help of public funding, Edhi's trust was able to collect Rs.200,000. He expanded the trust to other medical fields and through hard work and diligence, he went on to establish a maternity home and an emergency ambulance service. Edhi made it a habit to involve himself in every aspect of his foundation. His foundation raised money for most noble causes. The Edhi foundation had allotted a quota for each humanitarian cause, whether it was burying abandoned corpses or aiding in disaster relief. He told NPR in 2009 that "I saw people lying on the pavement ... The flu had spread in Karachi, and there was no one to treat them. So I set up benches and got medical students to volunteer. I was penniless and begged for donations on the street. And people gave. I bought this 8-by-8 room to start my work."

At the age of 20 Edhi joined a Memon charity as a volunteer. However, once he understood that it only attended to Memon people he confronted his superiors and left to form an independent medical center. He feared the Memons would have him killed because of the stand he made, so he left the country in search of safety and knowledge. Edhi travelled to Europe and made his way to London via Rome by asking for donations and begging. His time in London allowed him to examine the social welfare programs set up in the United Kingdom and on which he based the rest of his charitable works. Edhi resolved to dedicate his life to aiding the poor, and over the next sixty years, he single-handedly changed the face of welfare in Pakistan.