The Real-life Heroes of 2019 Ranked!

1.Afroz Shah: Keeps the beaches clean

When Afroz was just a kid, he used to play on the beach a lot. And seeing the beach filled with plastics and garbage broke his heart.

Afroz Shah, a Mumbai-based lawyer started the “Afroz Shah Foundation”. At the start, Shah and his neighbor began to pick trash from Mumbai’s Versova Beach every Sunday. Later he recruited many others to join them through social media. The volunteers grew stronger. Shah didn’t stop there- he took his passion to the next level by cleaning the stretch of the Mithi River of India.

His work has been called the world’s biggest beach cleanup.

2. Mary Robinson: Helps children deal with the death of loved ones

Mary Robinson lost her father to cancer when she was 14 years of age- she had no help at that time. She became dull, her grades dropped and her total teenage life ruined.

Robinson founded the nonprofit, A Center for Coping with Loss in 2011 to help children cope with the loss of a loved one. Children are encouraged to share and open up about their pain. Some are given a room called “Volcano Room” with paper to rip and pillows to punch. This helps them to let go of the pain.

“I really do this work to make sure other kids don’t lose years of their life to unresolved grief,” she said. “The death of a parent is really a trauma for a child. But it doesn’t have to leave a child traumatized if they get support.” Robinson told CNN.

3. Richard Miles: Helps former prisoners get a new life

Richard Miles was 20 when he got arrested for a crime he didn’t commit. He spent 15years in prison and got released at the age of 34. He lost a valuable part of his life and struggled to cope with his life.

His own life and seeing others incarcerated inspired him to start “The Miles of Freedom Lawn Care Service” it provides temporary employment for former prisoners. They also provide career training, financial help, finding a college and other useful acts.

4. Freweini Mebrahtu: Designs reusable pads for girls in wade range

Freweini Mebrahtu designed reusable pads for girls struggling without proper pads. In Ethiopia, girls drop out of school and classes due to this.

In 2005, she started Mariam Seba Sanitary Products Factory and today she and her team produce 750,000 pads a year. Mebrahtu delivers a message through her speech, teaching girls and boys that periods are not bad or shameful.

5. Najah Bazzy: Helps Detroit’s area women and children

Najah Bazzy founded Zaman International, a nonprofit that provides necessities and education to more than 250,000 women and children of Detroit area.

When Bazzy was working as a nurse, she visited an Iraqi refugee family back in 1996 to help their child from dying. She was devastated by the area.

“There, at the house, I got my first glimpse of poverty. … They absolutely had nothing,” she said. “I was so devastated by that. … I decided that this wasn’t going to happen on my watch.” Bazzy told CNN.

Bottom Line

These people are real-life heroes. They don’t care about money and other desires- they just want to see the world as a better place.

Some of them started small, with donations and funds and inspired many by their act. These are the Real-life heroes as revealed by CNN.