Round-the-clock rescue facility: 1987 Bohri Bazaar blasts led Ramzan Chhipa to set up service

The man behind one of the largest services recalls how it all started.

KARACHI: In 1987, Karachi had not witnessed explosions of such magnitude. But when the twin bomb blasts ripped through the crowded Bohri Bazaar and left 200 of its residents dead, the city rose to help out.

One of the young men, who pushed a cart with the injured victims all the way to Civil hospital was none other than Ramzan Chhipa.

"It was the day when over two dozen people took their last breath in my arms and I couldn't save their lives," the man behind Chhippa Welfare Association - one of the city's largest rescue services - recalled sadly. "This eye-opening experience strengthened my commitment towards serving mankind."

Chhipa, who was in class 10 at the time of the Bohri Bazaar blasts, rushed to donate blood to the victims. "Those were terrifying moments as people with their clothes soaked in blood were being transported to the hospital in rickshaws and even pushcarts as not enough ambulances were available," he remembered, adding that the Edhi Foundation was not that active in those days.

As a young student, Chhipa realised he did not have much to go ahead with. To start with, he bought medicines from his pocket money and used to stand at the front gate of Civil hospital to give them to the people who couldn't afford to purchase them. "It was my mother who realised that I had a desire to serve humanity and she supported me financially."

After the initial faith and investment by his mother, Chhipa was lucky enough to find people who trusted him and, therefore, donated generously. As funds started coming in, his work expanded and he bought his first ambulance in 1995. "Our focus was on rescue services as only Edhi could not cater to the massive rescue needs of Karachi."

Born into a middle-class family that belongs to Ranchore Lines in 1972, Chippa is now married with three children. Always clad in a green kameez, Chhipa explained he loves the colour of Gumbad-e-Khizra, referring to the dome of the Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) mosque.

How does he manage the 1,000 workers the association formally employs? Chhipa does not take donations from any international donor or the government, he clarified, adding that the general public, philanthropists and the business community supports them in this cause.

Chhipa vs Edhi

"We are not working in competition with the Edhi Foundation," Chhipa clarified, satisfied that God has chosen him to serve the people of Karachi. He did not, resist adding that 90 per cent of the rescue work in the city is carried out by his association.

Other projects

When the city witnessed several cases of babies found in dumpsters, Chhipa decided to introduce 'Chhipa Palna' service. "We tell people not to kill children," he explained. "Instead, leave them in our cradles installed at a number of places in the city." The organisation has so far picked over 50 babies from garbage dumps in the city this year alone, most of them were girls. A large number of them are already dead after they are abandoned and, in some cases, they are eaten away by cats and dogs.

Besides rescue services, Chhipa also provides food to 30,000 people from low-income and poor families.

Chhipa, who looks much older than his 41-year-old self, is determined to take his association to national and international level, given that he saves up enough funds.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2013.