Unsung Heroes and Heroines

On Embrace Everyone, we strive to recognise as many positive contributions towards social justice and social inclusion as possible, and are dedicating this post to some of our unsung heroes and heroines.

After the promulgation of a new Constitution in 2010, Kenya changed one of its national holidays and October 20th officially became “Mashujaa Day” (Heroes Day). Although many of those celebrated are well-known national figures, it has become increasingly popular to celebrate everyday heroes and heroines on this day. Read a couple of articles by clicking on the links below to know more about some of these people:

#Shujaa Wangu: Kenyans celebrate their heroes on Mashujaa Day

Kenyans who are suffering in silence are heroes

Google Arts & Culture, in collaboration with National Museums of Kenya, have also developed a series called “Utamaduni Wetu: Meet the People” with a series of historical superheroes and other figures, as well as information about some of the many communities in the country. Read all about these stories here

Helen Bamber (1925 -2014)

Thank you to Sally Ivens, who wrote to us about her heroine, Helen Bamber, a British Psychotherapist and Human Rights activist. You can read about her life as documented by wikipedia here

Writes Sally, “she was probably not international enough or known enough… She came to speak at an evening class on human rights that I attended years ago and I was blown away. I’ll never forget that evening. There were only about ten of us and it was just amazing hearing her speak.  Years later when I was working for the Red Cross Refugee Unit she was helping so many people through her work at the Medical Foundation for the care of victims of torture.  My friend from Ivory Coast who came to live with us (condition of his bail from immigration detention) was seen by her in person and she offered him ongoing support while in her 80’s. I really think she helped save his life. She helped countless people and changed their lives for sure…. She died several years ago. She will always be a hero for me.”

In 1945, at the age of 19, Helen travelled to Belsen in Germany to help care for survivors of the concentration camp there and after returning to UK in 1947, she became responsible for more than 700 orphans brought from Auschwitz, training in trauma counselling. She was later among the founders of both Amnesty International and the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture. In 2005, Helen established the Helen Bamber Foundation, which is a pioneering Human Rights charity supporting refugees and asylum seekers who are the survivors of extreme human cruelty. Please read more about the Foundation’s work here

We would also like to thank Sudeep Mohandas for highlighting the life and work of Narinder Singh Kapany, who passed on in early December aged 94 after a lifetime’s service in science and dubbed “the father of fibre optics”. Please read about his life here in wikipedia and watch the short tribute video below made by Darpan Magazine:

Finally, we also remember Paulette Wilson, who died in July this year aged 64. She was one of the victims of the UK government’s so-called “Windrush scandal”, who was wrongfully arrested in 2017 and became one of the most powerful campaigners against wrongful arrests, detention and deportation of Black British people. Please read the Guardian’s tribute to her here and a piece by Amelia Gentleman, also in the Guardian, here and another piece by the same writer, called “Without Paulette Wilson, Windrush may have remained hidden”.

Paulette Wilson (1956-2020)