This boy approached a car to beg for change. Then he saw the woman inside and broke down in tears. John, thou may look no different from any other child beggar in Nairobi, Kenya, but the boy has certainly proved himself to have a heart of gold. And when his actor actions toward Gladys Commande came to light, they made headlines for all the right reasons.
Though his life in itself has been tragic. However, since his mum passed away when he was very young, the boy was subsequently left in the care of his abusive father. Ultimately, though, thou couldn’t endure any time with his dad, and so he ran away to the streets and like the majority of homeless children in Kenya, Thu devoted much of his time to asking civilians for money in order to survive. Beggars in Nairobi tend to approach motorists when they’re in their vehicles, and there was no different in that regard. Perhaps the biggest obstacle facing childbeggers in Nairobi, though, is the assumption they’re criminals rather than helpless kids who have been forced out of their family homes through no fault of their own.
But perhaps the story of how thou met a woman named Gladys Commande may change the perception of homeless people in Kenya. And when thou approached Command’s car in late 2016, their meeting would prove to be a touching one. At first, though, the boy noticed something unusual about Command’s appearance.
She seemed to be hooked up to a huge machine complete with tubes. Thousand asked Commande about the tubes and she informed him they were connected to an oxygen tank that helped her breathe. Her lungs stopped functioning properly without this assistance, so she needed to carry the equipment with her at all times. And although Zoo was homeless and begging for money on the streets, he was seemingly overcome with empathy for Commande’s plight. He was deeply moved, it appeared, by the fact there are people such as commandi who need the assistance of machines just so they can breathe properly.
Overwhelmed by this realization, Doug burst into tears. He then reached into his pocket and offered Commande everything he managed to collect that day. In spite of his own problems, Zoo looked to believe this woman needed the money more than he did. Thou also insisted that he wanted to stay with Command so he could help her with housework. It seemed the boy could sense just how much of a struggle Command’s life had been, and the woman had had her fair share of problems.
After suffering from a stomach condition, for instance, she’d been relying on oxygen tanks for more than half a decade. Commande also had to endure twelve operations, one of which, sadly, led her to lose her sight. Tragically, her health issues had originally occurred as a result of assault by an abusive husband. When a pedestrian spotted the emotional encounter between Buu and Commande, however, they snapped a photograph of the pair and after the onlooker posted the resulting image on social media, the shop began to attract a lot of attention. In fact, it ultimately went viral.
Soon enough, people wanted to learn more about the two individuals in the photos and what had happened between them. It emerged that Commande subsequently took them to a children’s home before vowing that she’d return to him once the recovery was complete. Meanwhile, when Commande had first met, though she’d been in a car with some friends as part of a fundraising campaign, her loved ones had been doing their best to amass the 70 $0 required to pay for a lung reconstruction. Furthermore, during the period when Commando’s husband had constantly assaulted her, she’d reportedly suffered several miscarriages. The emotion showed by though after he approached her car had prompted commando to take the young boy under her wing.
However, and the encounter would ultimately end up changing both their lives. For Juan Mika Sonko, Nairobi Senator saw Command’s story and felt compelled to help do that, and he used his official Facebook page to request local citizens donate the money to Command’s cause. Sonko even included detailed instructions explaining how people could give funds. And as the tale spread further, enough money was donated for commander to finally afford a flight to India And undergo surgery on her lungs. In total, people in Nairobi and across the globe gave $80,000, which will hopefully allow commande to have a more comfortable life in the future.
Across social media, there was plenty of sympathy and concern for thou too. What a big heart this precious boy has, wrote one Commenter on Twitter in response to news of his and commander’s encounter. Another described the images accompanying the Twitter post as beautiful. But that wasn’t the end. Nissy won Bugu saw the story, too, after which he made the effort to track down the youngster and adopt him.
Wambugu has since provided thou with a loving home and the opportunity to receive a school education as a result. Then, Thou’s choice to donate all his money to someone else in need paid dividends. Now, he is a loving mother and a seemingly bright future, and he will likely never need to beg for money on the streets of Nairobi ever again. Zoo and commander’s tale may well challenge people’s existing perceptions of homeless people in Nairobi too. But if nothing else, the outcome from their meeting provides some good evidence for the notion that if we put combustion out into the world, we will often receive it back in return.
