3 Modern Day Folk Heroes
Folk heroes are people we admire. While some do deeds as
renegades who go against the grain and challenge authority, others quietly give
of themselves to do what most of us believe to be valuable and important work. A recent article by Hestie Barnard Gerber
provides examples of such super human beings. Here are three modern day folk
heroes who do things that will benefit others.Jorge Munoz:
From life as an illegal immigrant to
presidential citizenry, this man understood the hunger pangs of illegal day
laborers who were also homeless. Ready, willing, and able, he took on the task
of feeding these under-the-bridge dwellers on a regular basis. His warm, cooked
meals were served, come rain or shine. Estimates are that he has provided meals
to more than 70,000 people in the Queens area of New York. Since his
citizenship in 1987, he has paid for the food primarily with wages he earns as
a school bus driver and donations from others. His efforts earned him the 2010 Presidential
Citizens Medal by President Barack Obama.
Pushpa Basnet:
It was a visit to a female prisoner in
Kathmandu that this Nepalese student earning her degree in social work first encountered
children living behind bars with their mothers. The scene motivated her to establish
the non-profit Early Development Center and Butterfly Home that provide daycare,
education, meals and medical care as well as other services. Along the way, she
has also found time to help the women in prison learn handcrafts that can help them
earn money to help pay for the care their children receive.
Aki Ra:
As a very young boy he became a child soldier.
Chosen by the Khmer Rouge, he laid thousands of mines and fought for the Cambodian
army. He later applied his skills to clearing out landmines and, in time,
collected enough of the defused artillery to create a collection that in time
became known as the Cambodia Landmine Museum. He funded his effort by charging
tourists a dollar each to see the material. In time, he switched from this
illegal clearing to creating a non-governmental organization. Cambodian Self
Help Demining allows him to legally clear out landmines. Along the way he has
adopted injured and abandoned children in the villages he visited.
Modern day folk heroes abound in today’s globalized
world. We owe them gratitude because they are making a difference that benefit
us all. To read the complete article, click here.
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