Stephen Ferreira runs an empowerment charity that works to uplift people; he is always doing good for others, including buying groceries for a dear friend’s birthday.
Johannesburg, South Africa – Stephen Ferreira started ‘Charity Begins With Me‘ shortly after he was first diagnosed with cancer. He realised he could do so much more with the life he had left and quickly set up the charity as a way to give back.
He has run the charity throughout his chemotherapy treatments, remission and sadly, his relapse. Whatever battles he faces in his own life, it is those of others that give him the strength to push through.
Recently Stephan decided to treat a close friend for his birthday. The celebration has warmed the hearts of many. Stephen met Percy seven years ago when Percy was trying to converse with some dogs and ask them not to bite him. When Stephen heard the conversation, he realised what an extraordinary human Percy was.
“The first time I met Percy he was having a conversation with the dogs. Literally. And not just a few random sentences but a full-on conversation. Basically making a deal with them – they don’t bite him and he will be their friend. He also politely asked them not to run into the street when he opens the gate. On that day I knew there was something special about him.”
Stephen and Percy spend a lot of time together and the one quality, besides Percy’s compassion, that stands out to Stephen, is that he is a chatterbox.
“Whenever we are stuck in traffic he tells me stories about his childhood. He loves to give me updates on the soccer, and even though I am not a fan he tells me it is important to know these things.
I am not sure where he gets his information from but he is a walking encyclopedia and will tell you exactly how many languages they speak in Nigeria, what the government needs to do to fix the economy, and why Krugersdorp is a dangerous place to be.
Of course, none of his stories are fact-checked so for all I know he is making it up as we go along, but he speaks with such conviction that you cannot help but listen.
And the more you listen the more he talks.”
Percy’s birthday was around the corner, and Stephen started thinking about what he could do for him, that would really benefit him the most. After some thought, he decided to take Percy grocery shopping. A luxury that Percy would absolutely love. His birthday was on the 3rd of August.
“Today Percy celebrated his birthday and we went shopping for groceries. At first, he only picked out three small items and then looked at me as if I was going to ask him to put something back.
When I told him to keep going he slowly picked up the pace and then it turned into a mad dash when he realized I was not going to stop him.
I don’t think he ever went into a shop with a trolley and so there was no method to his madness. Where most people would start on one side of the shop and slowly walkthrough once, we were all over the show.
Chicken. Then washing powder. Eggs. Corn Flakes. Polony. Sugar. And when we eventually ran through the shop about a million times he finally had everything he needed. A trolley full of groceries and even a bottle of wine.”
Percy enjoyed every moment of shopping for groceries and made sure to tell everyone they bumped into that is was his birthday and that Stephen was treating him.
“I think he told every single person in Checkers that it was his birthday and that he was grocery shopping with me. Whether they wanted to listen or not was irrelevant.
Two hours later we stopped in front of his house and unpacked everything as his wife was not home.
Percy was still talking.
And I am pretty sure he is now eagerly waiting for his wife to come back from her piece job tonight. Not to show her the groceries but to talk to her about his day. And everything else. Happy Birthday, Percy!!”
Stories like these warm our hearts! What was a simple gesture on Stephen’s part, was an inspiring and uplifting moment for Percy.
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