Donations declined after Maulana’s demise: Faisal Edhi

Faisal Edhi of Edhi Foundation revealed on Saturday that after the sad demise of Maulana Abdus Sattar Edhi, donations to foundation have reduced to a large extent, which is causing hurdles in carrying out day-to-day relief activities and services to ailing humanity but the mission started by Maulana Edhi would not be stopped at any cost.

He was addressing the inaugural ceremony of two-day medical conference ‘Karachi Con-16’, organized by Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) to pay tribute to late Sattar Edhi and to highlight the importance of service to ailing humanity and relief work in case of natural and manmade disasters in the country and abroad.

Faisal Edhi said that the donations to Edhi Foundation have declined after the death of Maulana and the foundation was facing difficult times. He urged the Pakistanis abroad to cooperate so that the foundation could continue Edhi’s mission of serving humanity.

He informed that the Edhi Foundation was going to start the first ever school for training of ambulance drivers, medical technicians and paramedics in Karachi from next month and added that ambulance drivers, paramedics and midwives from entire Pakistan would be trained at the school in Lyari to save lives during conflicts and disasters and to shift injured people to hospitals at the earliest by stabilizing their condition on the spot of accident and trauma.

“Modernization of Edhi ambulance service is a dream of Maulana Edhi, which would be achieved sooner or later but at the moment, we are concentrating on the basic service of shifting those wounded and in need of medical service to the nearest hospitals without wasting precious time to save their lives”, he informed.

Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) Director Prof Adibul Hasan Rizvi lauded the PIMA for organizing such a focused conference for medical professionals in Karachi and said Maulana Edhi even at his death bed, served suffering humanity by donating both of his corneas which reinstated eyes of two persons after his demise.

‘Karachi Con-16’ Secretary Prof Dr Sohail Akhtar, in his address, introduced PIMA to guests and participant of the conference and said the PIMA was an organization of doctors who felt proud to be Muslims and also served humanity without any discrimination.

He told that PIMA was running two hospitals in earthquake-ravaged areas of Kashmir and KPK including Muzaffarabad and Mansehra while in Karachi it was running a state-of-the-art eye hospital and added that the PIMA is also running a medical and dental college in Peshawar.