A South African woman approached two homeless men with the intention of just listening to their story, but it was their actions that inspired her… and us all.
Helen Johns, an avid Good Things Guy reader, shared a story that broke her heart and inspired her at the same time. The story has since been seen by many, and is doing exactly the same thing to anyone that reads it.
As South Africans we are faced with a multitude of poverty and sadness and the constant sight of seeing someone begging has made us very numb to it. But on this day, for some reason, Helen and her daughter, Alexa, decided to stop and speak to two men who she had often seen at the local store on the top of Kloof Street in Cape Town.
Meet William and Brandon. Friends who had found each other because of their circumstances but stayed together because of human kindness.
“I realized William didn’t have shoes on so asked him if I could buy him some. His eyes lit up and he asked for a size 9. My daughter and I headed to Woolies and bought him shoes, socks and other goodies.”
When Helen saw William the next day, he was fast asleep on the pavement but he did not have the shoes on. The car guard (Brandon) woke him up gently and pointed him towards her.
“William – these people bought you shoes. Sit up”
Helen found out that the shoes were too small as William’s feet are swollen beyond a size 12 due to exposure. Many homeless people have swollen legs and feet. Sitting or standing for long periods of time and not being able to lay down may be the cause, although other underlying health issues may also be responsible.
Helen left William and Brandon but knew that she couldn’t leave him without a bigger pair of shoes to protect him from the elements. She returned the next day with larger shoes and more clothes.
Again Brandon took charge of William.
“Brandon wiped down William’s feet gently with wetwipes, put on his socks and spoke to him kindly as he knew William’s feet are painful… he helped him dress in his new clothes, whilst telling me that William won’t go to the shelter as they make him feel like an animal. William isn’t mentally strong.”
“Brandon also told me that his own money goes to the shelter so he can have a warm meal and shower. He shares his food with William.”
But it was the gentle way that Brandon took care of a stranger, another man in need, who has become his friend on the street that Helen found extremely beautiful and heartbreaking.
Helen spent some time speaking to Brandon, to understand why someone so kind and caring had been left destitute and alone, to face the world.
“Brandon wants to work. He said he will do anything – just to have a steady job and income. A few years back he and his friends found a discarded Multichoice unit in a bin. The cops saw them carrying it and arrested them. He stayed in jail for 2 weeks until nobody lodged a report that the item was missing. He ended up with a criminal record though and now can not find work.”
Before Helen left, Brandon thanked them for being so kind to William. He had completely disregarded himself and instead chose to acknowledge what she had done for his friend, and how that little bit of kindness would go so much further.
“Alexa and I cried all the way home. We saw into the souls of two men from totally different worlds, now in the same circumstances. Two good human beings who need our help.”
And even though Helen was left a little heartbroken for William and Brandon… their story of kindness inspired her to ask friends on Facebook to help these two incredible humans, and maybe stop turning a blind eye.
“Can’t we help Brandon find work? He said he is happy to do anything.
And as for William – when you see him passed out on the pavement – he doesn’t drink – he just goes to sleep there. Please give him food and a smile. I spoke Shona to him and his entire being lit up with joy from just being recognized as a Zimbabwean.
He looked so happy.”
A story like this reminds us that as humankind, we need to be more human and more kind to each other. To help William or Brandon, head over to the “Seven Eleven” on the corner of Kloof and Firdale Roads in Gardens, Cape Town.
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