KARACHI: The Edhi Foundation was awarded the ‘Isa Award for Service to Humanity’ in a ceremony in Bahrain’s capital Manama for its humanitarian services, a press release by the organisation said.
According to the press statement by the Isa Award, the charity organisation was shortlisted along with several other qualifiers from other countries by an international jury. The Pakistani charity foundation was selected after the general secretariat of the Award, in coordination with the jury, “conducted intensive field research covering the worksites of the Foundation, reviewing methods of providing services and verifying the records of achievements”, the statement said.
Edhi Foundation received a medal of pure gold, certificate of appreciation and USD 1 million in a ceremony held in Manama on Tuesday and was attended by Bahrain’s monarch King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
This is the fourth award by the organisation — established in 2008 in memory of Emir Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa after whom the award is named — which recognises the services of charities across the world once every two years.
The Isa Award “emphasizes humanitarian openness to various races and religions and avoids politics and conflict of any kind”, the press release explained.
The Edhi Foundation was founded by the late Abdul Sattar Edhi and its operations are sprawled throughout the country. Edhi runs several shelter houses, old homes, an ambulance network, orphanages, soup kitchens, morgues along with multiple other welfare services.
Since the demise of Edhi in 2016, however, the foundation has seen a drop in donations and funds.