Pakistani-origin railway worker, Rizwan Javed, will be conferred with the prestigious Order of the British Empire (MBE) award for saving the lives 29 of individuals.
According to details, the 33-year-old works for the MTR Elizabeth line at Ealing Broadway station. He is responsible for preventing 29 individuals from committing suicide.
Javed told a media outlet that he participated in the Samaritans training course almost ten years ago when he first joined the railway.
“They teach you key skills of how to identify vulnerable people, what sort of conversations to have with them, and how to take them to a point of safety,” he said.
Rizwan Javed revealed that just a couple of days after completing the training course, he prevented someone from taking their life at a station.
In 2019, Javed was declared the winner of the Samaritans Lifesaver Award, recognizing his use of talking and listening skills to save lives.
Speaking about his experience in helping save the lives of individuals of different ages, the 33-year-old stated that it had an ‘emotional impact on him’.
The heroic railway worker added that due to his Asian background, there is often a lack of education or awareness regarding mental health.
“If you’re going through mental health issues your mother [will] probably give you a paracetamol and say you’ll be OK in the morning,” he told the media outlet.
Javed continued, “So a lot of stuff like that, breaking that barrier and getting people to talk about mental health, whether it’s at work or home, has been a coping mechanism for myself.”
The 33-year-old revealed that he was asleep when he received the letter, informing him about his appointment as MBE. He stated that it was his mother who opened the letter, adding that she was more excited than him.
However, when his mother informed him, he ‘had to read it about 10 times to digest it.’
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