ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Abdul Sattar Edhi – the ‘Angel of Mercy’ of Pakistan – would have turned 89 if he still alive.
His birthday has been honoured with a Google Doodle dedicated to an award-winning philanthropist and humanitarian.
Born in Gujarat, in British India, in 1928, Edhi and his Muslim family moved to Pakistan in 1947 during the partition of the subcontinent.
In 1951, he established the Edhi Foundation, funded solely through donations, focusing on addicts, battered women, orphans and the disabled.
Recognized by his long white beard and traditional black cap, Edhi was a hero to the poor.
He also berated radical groups for attacking civilians, criticized the governments.
The Edhi foundation was at the forefront of the response in 2015 when a devastating heat wave struck Karachi, a city of about 20 million people.
The charity has also helped thousands of people around the world in times of need, including survivors of Hurricane Katrina and thousands of Pakistani orphans.
The foundation provides super-efficient ambulance service, and Edhi ambulances are welcomed as friendly neighbors throughout Pakistan.
Edhi passed away on July 8 last year and was laid to rest in the clothes he died in.
He was buried in a grave he himself dug several years earlier at the Edhi cemetery near Karachi.
