Dr Ruth Pfau, a German-born medical missionary who was hailed as the “Mother Teresa of Pakistan” for her pivotal role in containing leprosy there, died on Thursday in a hospital in Karachi. She was 87.
Dr.Ruth Pfau is a well-known German lady who devoted her life to the people of Pakistan. Strangely, a German woman has the heart of a Pakistani. She was known as the “Mother Teresa of Pakistan”. About her work in Pakistan, Dr. Pfau wrote four books, one of which, “To Light a Candle,” was translated into English in 1987. She clarified in a different book that she never intended to fully retire. Pfau was honoured with the Hilal-i-Pakistan-, Hilal-i-Imtiaz-, Nishan-i-Quaid-i-Azam-, and the Sitara-i-Quaid-i-Azam awards.
She devoted her life to the poor people of Pakistan. She led many campaigns for the leprosy people. Many of the patients got care and love through her clinics. She had “enabled hundreds of thousands of people to live with dignity,” according to Harald Meyer-Porzky, deputy chief executive of the German Leprosy and Tuberculosis Relief Foundation and a board member of the Ruth Pfau Foundation.
Dr. Pfau began working at the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre, which was founded by a nun order and first opened its doors in the Karachi slums in 1956. She quickly turned it into the centre of a network of 157 hospitals that provided leprosy treatment to tens of thousands of people in Pakistan.
The centre, which received funding primarily from benefactors in Germany, Austria, and Pakistan, also provided treatment to victims of the severe floods in 2010, the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir, and the 2000 drought in Balochistan.
After leprosy was deemed under control, the centre concentrated on blindness, TB, and other illnesses as well as impairments, some of which were brought on by land mines in Afghanistan’s war-torn country. The German consulate in Karachi declared, “It was due to her endless struggle that Pakistan defeated leprosy.”
She is a leprosy eradicator. Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by a type of bacteria, Mycobacterium leprae. The disease predominantly affects the skin and peripheral nerves. Left untreated, the disease may cause progressive and permanent disabilities. Dr Ruth was the warrior for the people of Pakistan and Pakistan became Leprosy due to her efforts. She has shown the power of compassion for the poor people. How many people are so solid for their work and serve the purpose of humanity?
She has shown that despite being the girl she has devoted her life. How a medical girl becomes a life changer for the people of Pakistan. These kinds of high achievers show that they have a purpose behind their wide vision.
