A Paradigm
of Humanity*
By Nafeesah Andrabi
Claremont High School
(*The
Claremont City Council recognized winners of the
Martin Luther King, Jr. Making Change contest
at its regularly scheduled Council meeting on
February 8, 2005. Nafeesah Andrabi, daughter of
Shaila and Tahir Andrabi, who wrote this essay,
won in the high school category of the contest.)
Pakistan is located in South Asia, bordering India,
Afghanistan, Iran and China. At the moment, Pakistan
may be known to you for its president, General
Pervez Musharraf, or the War on Terror, but to
me it is more personal because of my background.
My parents were born in Pakistan, and aside from
visiting there for at least 2/3's of my summers
so far, I lived there from 4th to 5th grade while
my father was on sabbatical and I feel very close
to the people there. My father, aside from being
a professor at Pomona College, works on projects
in rural villages (from whom I hear many tales
of poverty) , focusing on education for the younger
children who have no access to decent schooling,
or any schooling at all for that matter.
Most
of my extended family also resides in Pakistan.
Because of my connection to the land, I take care
to understand the status of the people and places
there. The whole point of successfully taking
charge of a country is helping the people to grow
and evolve; making them able to develop into a
well rounded nation. Instead of discussing matters
such as all the children dying of diseases, homeless
families, or how little awareness there is over
drugs at the top of the community, why don't we
all take action and actually try to make a difference?
Well, believe it or not, there is one man who
has taken this task upon himself. His name is
Abdul Sattar Edhi; you may not be familiar with
this charitable man, so let me brief you on him.
He
is a humanitarian, with a realistic cause in mind;
the well being of others around him. Edhi had
a rough childhood. His mother became paralyzed
when he was only 11, and he devoted himself to
attending to all of her needs. His lifestyle changed
much from that of others of his age, and the world
of suffering became a source of wisdom to him.
At the age of 19, his mother passed away, leaving
him with only the thought that there were many
others out there, in much the same cases, with
no one to look after them. To him, it provided
a vision of what needed to be done, and it was
a challenge to him to reduce human misery. With
no resources, and very little help, he started
the task at hand. To me, it is Edhi, a modest
man living a simple life, who is making a difference
to the people of Pakistan, and not all the well-paid
men at the top.
He
took it upon himself to help the people, rural
or urban, using an inspirational motto, "Just
Do It" and started from being a peddler working
in a shack, to establishing small organizations
since 1947, and has now founded many international
foundations, including the original Edhi Trust
(founded in 1955) . It is among these facilities
that he has nurseries caring for abandoned babies,
home shelters for mentally retarded and those
in need of love, and schools providing education
for younger children, so that when they are older,
they too can make a difference. He also restores
lost and runaway children, provides free shrouding
and burial rites of unclaimed bodies, supplies
emergency relief after natural disasters, and
assures many prisoners with rightful lawyers.
These are things which we take for granted.
I personally don't know any runaway or lost children,
I don't find abandoned babies on the streets,
and I haven't seen any unclaimed bodies recently
either. Though I may not be a prime example, my
comparison shows to some extent the differences
between us and them. All that has been listed
above is not anything out of the ordinary, just
resources and programs that a community should
have, but would not be provided if it were not
for this man, this Edhi, who has changed their
lives and mine. There are actual ambulances run
by the Edhi Centers in Pakistan now, and people
have the resources to go to the hospital if they
break their arm. Something such as that may seem
simple to us, but not to them. He took it in his
hands to change one thing, providing resources
to reduce human misery, and look where he is now.
It started small, but has grown over time, and
now, nearly 49 years later, has 7 different systems
all over the world, including at least one in
each continent. Though I might not do something
so great, I do want to be like him.
I feel more empathy for this man, who actually
ventures forth, with no master plan in mind, but
only a cause, than everybody sitting at the top
of the human pyramid, talking…and talking… A developing
country means developing people, everywhere. Not
just in the richer cities, but the nation as a
whole. Edhi didn't judge based on look, but saw
that beauty was not only skin deep, and now many
thousands have homes, shoes and clothing, books
to read from, a cast on their arm, and someone
who loves them. This is more than what the society
could have asked for 50 years ago. Because of
this, to me, Abdul Sattar Edhi is a hero, a role
model, and humanitarian to all. I hope that others
will be able to see what I see in him, and take
it upon to themselves, to make a difference. Abdul
Sattar Edhi has developed Pakistan as a whole,
and in the process Pakistani society, has made
a change.
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