In times of tragedy, look for the heroes… they will always be there!
Zimbabwe – A Zimbabwean Billionaire has pledged to build a house and give a USD 1000 allowance to a Gogo who chose to carry a bag of donations over 12 kilometres to victims of Cyclone Idai.
Intense Tropical Cyclone Idai is regarded as one of the worst tropical cyclones on record to affect Africa and the Southern Hemisphere as a whole. The long-lived storm caused catastrophic damage in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi, leaving more than 700 people dead, thousands missing and over 3 million people displaced. In the Southern Hemisphere, it currently ranks as the second deadliest tropical cyclone on record, having a death toll comparable to that of the 1892 Mauritius cyclone!
The tenth named storm and a record-breaking eighth intense tropical cyclone of the 2018–19 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season, Idai originated from a tropical depression that formed off the east coast of Mozambique on 4 March. The storm made landfall in Mozambique later in the day and remained a tropical cyclone through its trek over land.
Idai brought strong winds and caused severe flooding in Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, which has killed over 7oo people and affected more than 3 million others.
But in-between the devastation; heartfelt stories are also surfacing.
The elderly woman walked for over 12 kilometres from Mbare to the Highlands with a sack of donations to Cyclone Idai victims because she could not afford the R8 bus fare to deliver her aid.
A Zimbabwean businessman – Strive Masiyiwa – found her story and highlighted it to his 3 million followers.
Masiyiwa is the Executive Chairman & Founder of the Econet Group, a global telecommunications group with operations, investments and offices in more than 15 countries (in Africa, Europe, USA, Latin America and Asia-Pacific).
He wanted to highlight how a woman who had so little was willing to do so much, but the successful businessman went a step further and has pledged to build her a house and give her a monthly allowance of USD 1000 for the rest of her life in order to thank her for her bravery and dedication!
He pledged to build her a house at a place of her choice alongside R15 000 monthly allowance for the rest of her life in reciprocation for her good deeds!
“Gogo came to give! This is the biblical “widow’s mite’! She gave more than us all!
What she did is one of the most remarkable acts of compassion I have ever seen! When this is over, I’m going to find her and invite her to come and see me, if possible:
Then I will spend time in prayer with her.
Then I will build her a house anywhere she wants in Zimbabwe. It will have solar power and running water. I will also give her a monthly allowance of USD 1000 for life.
Why? Because I admire people, who are moved to act in a crisis.”
We always say in times of crisis and tragedy, look for the heroes… they will always be there. Ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things!
And like Masiyiwa says, as an entrepreneur, you are a citizen and a member of your community, both locally and globally. You are going to be called upon time and time again to respond to a crisis.
by 