There are many people in Birmingham that have achieved great things or committed acts of bravery or self-sacrifice, yet they are not always recognised for their achievements.
Yes, we often idolise celebrities and their stories, but when it comes to truly inspirational figures, there are people from all different walks of life who have made a positive difference to people's lives in Birmingham over the last year.
There are many good deeds which don’t get the recognition they deserve, and that’s why we want to shine a light on those who have really made a difference and gone beyond over the last 12 months.
It's important that unsung heroes are recognised and get the credit they deserve, so we've decided to take a look at the Brummies who deserve a special mention for their selfless work and for dedicating parts of ther lives to helping others this year.
So, here are ten people and groups that we think deserve a special mention.
1. Darnish Amraz
Based in Aston, Darnish Amraz‘s (MBE) work in the city mentoring young people involved in gangs, county lines and knife crime across his native Birmingham has been vital in helping youngsters escape from a potential life of crime. The 38-year-old father-of-three was recognised in the 2023 King’s Birthday Honours for his work helping youngsters within Birmingham communities. After helping the Police and crime commissioner’s office set up a Mentoring and Violence Prevention Programme, Darnish went on to train 15 young people on how to deliver workshops on knife crime so they could go out and spread the positive messages.
2. Kirsty Smitten
Kirsty Smitten, from Solihull, was a “world leading” scientist set to potentially save tens of millions of lives with her new antibiotic medicine. She passed away in hospital with her family beside her last Wednesday (October 4), having spent the past seven weeks in Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital after being diagnosed with a very rare type of heart cancer. Kirsty was named a Forbes under 30 scientist and in February this year was crowned FSB’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Despite constant pain and weekly chemotherapy, she continued her vital work. While doing her microbiology PhD at University of Sheffield, the science star developed a new class of antibiotics treating multi-drug resistant bacteria. Big pharma’s interest was piqued, and through funding Kirsty set up MetalloBio in March 2021 - tackling the challenge of becoming a CEO while finishing her PhD. An incredible achievement
3. Haseebah Abdullah
In 2023, Haseebah Abdullah played a crucial role in bringing about a change in the official dress code regulations in boxing, thereby providing women from diverse backgrounds with a chance to train and compete. Haseebah is the first hijab-wearing boxing coach in England and is an incredible ambassador for women's sport. She helped to change the rules to allow women to wear a headscarf and full length clothing when training or competing. She told us earlier this year: "It pretty much started from myself - being a woman who wears a headscarf. I wasn’t able to compete when I was younger and I wished there was somebody out there that was fighting for my cause and unfortunately there wasn’t - but be the change you want to see I guess, so I did." Haseebah then became a coach, and put forward a study to IEBA, the head governing body of England boxing at the time and got the rules overturned
4. Dr Vishwaraj Vemala
Dr Vishwaraj Vemala is a Consultant Hepatologist based at QEHB, who saved the life of a passenger on a plane. Earlier this year, the doctor was flying from London to India to take his mum back to their home town of Bangalore, when cabin crew on board flight AI128 frantically started calling for a doctor as a passenger went into cardiac arrest. A 43-year-old man had collapsed in the aisle of the airplane and went into cardiac arrest. With the help of the cabin crew, Dr Vemala attended to the passenger, who at the time did not have a pulse and was not breathing, and attempted to resuscitate him. It took the doctor an hour of resuscitation before he was able to get him back. The patient went into cardiac arrest for a second time on the flight. Concerned for the passenger’s chance for survival, Dr Vemala and the pilot tried to get permission to land at the nearest airfield in Pakistan, but their requests were denied. Instead, they were able to arrange for landing at Mumbai Airport in India, where emergency crews were waiting for them on the ground.