Rita Pfau was a German doctor and religious who saved thousands of lives in Pakistan with her clinics. She would have been 90 years old. Google celebrates her
Google celebrates Ruth Pfau, a German doctor and religious who would have turned 90 today. She dedicated most of her life to fighting leprosy in Pakistan, saving the lives of tens of thousands of people. Also known as the "Mother Teresa of Pakistan", she lived most of her life between Pakistan, Afghanistan and India.
Today Google celebrates her with a Doodle, replacing its logo with an image of the missionary doctor. A fascinating story that of Ruth Pfau. She was born in Leipzig on September 9, 1929 and after the Second World War she moved with her family to West Germany, where she began studying medicine in the city of Mainz. His life changed in 1953 when he decided to convert to Catholicism (his family was Protestant) and dedicate his life to the education and upbringing of young people. After a trip to India and Pakistan, he decided to establish a center for the fight against leprosy in Kerachi, the most populous city in Pakistan.
Ruth Pfau, the Mother Teresa of Pakistan
After having dedicated a Doodle and made known the story of Fong Fei-Fei, Cesária Évora and Amrita Pritam, Google has decided to celebrate another great woman of the twentieth century, who has dedicated her life to the care of others: Ruth Pfau. Born in Leipzig on September 9, 1929 (she would have been 90 years old today), Ruth Pfau moved with her family to West Germany after the end of World War II. In the 1950s she attended the University of Mainz to study medicine. Her life changed when she met a woman survivor of the concentration camps who had always preached love and forgiveness: the young German girl decided to convert to Catholicism and in 1953 she joined the Society of the Daughters of the Heart of Mary, a congregation of nuns.
She began to travel in the poorest countries of Asia and carried out several missions in India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. And it was in Pakistan that she decided to spend the rest of her life: at the age of 31, she founded the first center for the fight against the leprosy epidemic in Kerachi, the most populous city in Pakistan. In a short time, the Maria Adelaide Leprosy Center became a point of reference for the local population, but also for neighboring countries, with people coming from Afghanistan and India.
Ruth Pfau, the woman who defeated leprosy in Pakistan
Thanks to donations from all over the world, Ruth Pfau was able to build other centers in every part of Pakistan. Her work was also recognized by the Pakistani Government that in 1979 gave her the position of Federal Councillor on Leprosy. In 1988 she became a Pakistani citizen. Her greatest success came in 1996, when WHO, the World Health Organization, declared leprosy under control in Pakistan.
Ruth Pfau died in Kerachi on August 10, 2017 from a respiratory crisis. Pakistan held state funerals to celebrate one of the women who changed its History forever.