Bilquis Bano Edhi had been a mother to innumerable people for countless years, especially to the children at the Edhi Foundation orphanage, which she founded alongside her late husband, philanthropist and humanitarian Abdul Sattar Edhi.
Bilquis Edhi, a certified nurse, and her late husband founded Pakistan’s largest non-profit support network for women, the impoverished, unwanted and abandoned children, and orphans. In addition to providing a place to live for those in need, the Edhis offered everyone who showed up at any of their homeless shelters or rehabilitation centers support in the areas of education, health, employment, and recreation. Additionally, Edhi Foundation boasts one of the biggest networks of ambulance services globally.
Through the Edhi Foundation, they have done and continue to accomplish extraordinary things for Pakistan’s living; but, their work for the deceased is unmatched. Whatever the circumstances, Edhi workers show up to properly bury each dead or unidentified body that is discovered. They show up with help and rescue during riots, disasters, and catastrophes. In actuality, the general population also receives essential support from their morgue and funeral homes.
It was on a visit to their Mithadar, Karachi, headquarters that I had the good fortune to meet this amazing mother to the motherless, some fourteen years ago. I wanted to witness firsthand how their orphanage was operated because I was researching it for a report.
There residence was also close by, nestled in one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods amid a tangle of narrow streets. They led lives akin to those of the homeless people they cared for. All the kids cheered up and ran to her when they saw her, and they were reachable by everyone they provided shelter for. Yes, she was the mother they never had.
Numerous newborns have come to the Edhi Home over the years. Many of them were left in the cradle outside of every Edhi center in the nation, where people are encouraged to drop off unwanted newborns without asking any questions. Thus far, hundreds of unwanted babies have been saved as a result of the campaign against infanticide, particularly that committed by women.
More than twenty-three thousand infants and young children have found homes with childless couples and families that the Edhis carefully vet for fit. The best aspect is that they monitor the kids they give up for adoption to make sure they are receiving proper care. Both those who asked for assistance and those who wished to give through donations were trusted by the Edhis.
In addition to being acknowledged in Pakistan, Bilquis and Abdul Sattar Edhi’s extraordinary humanitarian efforts also earn them honor and esteem elsewhere. The Edhis received a lot of appreciation for their treatment of Geeta, an Indian girl with speech and hearing impairments who was sent back home in 2015 after spending 13 years with them following her unintentional entrance into Pakistan.
The attention the Edhis offered to a lost Indian infant moved the otherwise antagonistic Indian Prime Minister Modi to such an extent that he declared he would be donating INR10 million to the Edhi Foundation.
For her “unparalleled services to the country,” the Pakistani government has chosen to posthumously grant her the Nishan-e-Pakistan, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Bilquis Edhi was awarded the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice in 2015 and the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service in 1986, jointly with her husband Abdul Sattar Edhi.
Bilquis Edhi was named, along with a few others, the most influential person of the first twenty years of the twenty-first century by The Impact Hallmarks [IH] in 2021.
Individuals such as her and Edhi Sahab only happen once in a nation’s lifetime. With their wonderful effort, one hopes that the foundation they laid for the benefit of all humanity be maintained.
