Pakistani Philanthropist Wins 2009 UN Prize for Non-Violence

Dr Abul Sattar Edhi of the Edhi Foundation in Karachi has been awarded the 2009 United Nations Mananjeet Singh Prize for Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence in recognition of his services for his life-long efforts to ameliorate the conditions of the most disadvantaged groups in Pakistan and South Asia. The prize is given to promote the ideals of human dignity, human rights, mutual respect and tolerance. Dr. Edhi, renowned for his active stand against extremism and his support of human rights as well as for his humanitarian efforts, is one of the most active philanthropists in Pakistan through his Edhi Foundation, which he created in 1957. His Foundation sets up maternity homes, mental asylums, homes for the physically handicapped, blood banks and orphanages, among other services. A non-profit social welfare programme with over 300 centres across Pakistan, Edhi Foundation has branches in several other countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia etc.) bring relief to refugees and other victims of strife and natural disasters. The UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize was created in 1995 on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the birth of the Mahatma Gandhi