Edhi is a household name in Pakistan, and everywhere in the world where Pakistanis reside. These Pakistanis whether home or abroad are also the main contributors to the Edhi Foundation, which spends millions of rupees every year on the downtrodden, destitute women, orphans and everyone or anyone who needs help. All of us are well aware of what Abdul Sattar Edhi stood for, and that is the reason why everyone is already feeling the void left after his departure from this world. However, today instead of focusing on Edhi sahib’s successes as a philanthropist, I will try to focus on how he was able to manage the largest philanthropy network in the country, and most importantly, how he managed to maintain the trust of his regular contributors.
A successful marketing strategy can be the single most important factor that can differentiate success from failure. Perhaps this factor also plays a central role in the success of the Edhi Foundation. There is no doubt that Edhi sahib himself was the face of the Edhi Foundation, and it was only because of him that people got attracted to his cause. The simplistic lifestyle led by Edhi sahib was one of the most important marketing tools that he had adopted to attract philanthropists and citizens alike. This is not to say that he was leading a simple life because he wanted to run a foundation or vice versa, but this is a fact that the success of his organisation was very much attributed to his lifestyle.
Leading by example was also one of the most important attributes of Edhi sahib’s personality. Edhi sahib did most of his personal work with his own hands, with the exception of when he got sick and was not able to do so. More importantly, he led by example even in his professional life. There is a famous example that is often quoted to highlight this important factor of Edhi sahib’s life. A few days old dead body was floating in a water tank, and no one was willing to remove it from water due to the unbearable stench. Edhi sahib himself waded in that tank and removed the dead body.
Edhi sahib always inspired people to help the poor and those in need. At many a time, he was shown on our TV screens “begging” for the flood affected and others who needed help. He called himself “beggar for the poor.” For a large part of his life, he used to sleep on a wooden bench placed outside the Edhi Foundation’s Mithadar’s dispensary, so that no one returned empty handed.
Edhi sahib’s image as a down-to-earth person living on minimum resources, not even worrying about his home or family, made him noble to everyone. This was an important factor that helped him market the services he was offering to the poor and downtrodden communities across the country.
Another important factor that is central to the success of the Edhi Foundation is its branding. Just like any corporate entity or commercial product branding remains an important attribute of the work of the Edhi Foundation. Every single product that the foundation distributes among its target audience including flood-affected populations, poor and destitute, orphans or even those affected by terrorist attacks are branded with the name Edhi. The funeral shrouds, coffins, clothes, tents, food items or every other product is branded by the name Edhi.
There is no doubt that Edhi sahib was the face of philanthropy in Pakistan. His image was the single most important factor that led to the success of this organisation and its subsidiaries. Of course, this is not to say that Edhi sahib was not a competent person. His marketing and management skills made his foundation one of the most successful organisations in the country. People donate to his organisation without asking questions. Some people don’t even bother about receipts for their donations, and this is all because of Edhi sahib’s image and his organisation’s unmatchable work.
As opposed to many who think of him only as a saintly figure, he was an equally successful manager and marketer, who made the Edhi Foundation the organisation that is known to people today.
The writer is a development consultant. She tweets at @GulminaBilal and can be reached at [email protected]