Abdul Sattar Edhi, creator of the largest public welfare charity in Pakistan, passed away on Friday, July 8th. He will be honored with a state funeral. Edhi ran a string of charities, ranging from orphanages, safe houses for women, mental institutions, identification services for deceased homeless and much more.

Chris Steele-Perkins, who photographed Edhi, shared his thoughts:

"Abdul Sattar EDHI was sometimes referred to as the Mother Teresa of Karachi, but the enormity of his achievement is hard to grasp. He and his wife have transformed the humanitarian landscape of Pakistan. In a country crippled by corruption he created a self-help organisation. An organisation that helps hundreds every day from donations from the general public. He has gained no personal benefit from it other than the satisfaction of his work.

Over time in this job I have met a number of famous people, but few who wear the mantle of greatness which he undoubtedly did.

I met Edhi in 1997, and he was a man of great modesty, integrity, humor, humanity and achievement and I felt this was a man the world should know more about, but I fear, in the West, a small, brown, Pakistani Muslim, was not one who would be embraced as a hero. He should have been, and could have been an inspiration to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. In my pantheon he stands alongside Nelson Mandela. His death is a global loss."

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