Real Kindness On A Kenyan Street

--by Sydney, posted Aug 6, 2011

When I was about 6 years old I lived in Kenya. There was a lot of poverty and there were always street children on the roads asking for money. There was such a big divide between those children and me and I grew up very aware of being so fortunate.

We had a wonderful and very kind driver, John, who had been working with my family for decades. He used to take us to and from school. One day we had to take a detour on the way to school and whilst we were stopped in traffic a young street child, probably no more than 10 years old, called out with a friendly greeting. “Jambo, John!”

He approached the car and shook John’s hand. John then gave him a little bit of money and waved him off with a smile before we carried on our way to school.

I had watched the whole incident from the back seat completely surprised. I knew that John worked very hard to make ends meet. He had a large family himself. We were always sending packets or rice and fruit and other snacks and clothes for his family and I knew that he didn’t have any spare money. So, of course, at that age I couldn’t understand why he would be giving money to the child.

“Who was that I asked?” I asked. “My friend,” he replied, “I see him every morning on my way to work and I give him a little bit of money.” Still unable to comprehend I asked, “Why do you have to give him money every morning?” John replied, “So he can use it to buy some food.”

It was probably in that moment that I understood what kindness really was.

Someone who was in a difficult situation themselves still found some money to spare for a child who needed it. Even at the age of 6 that had such a profound impact on me. I couldn’t get it out of my head. I didn’t have any money, but I wanted to contribute too.

Every Friday we would have dinner at my grandparents’ house and, after dinner, my grandfather would give us a chocolate bar when my mum wasn’t looking. I would save mine up so I could give it to John to give to his friend.

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Posted by Sydney
Aug 6, 2011
Comments (17)

Readers Comments

bookworm58 wrote: The story is very nice and we all learn something from someone so very young.

Our children can teach us a lot about caring and sharing.

kalyani wrote: John! Such a adorable man

kaustubh gunde wrote: The story is very nice. I've learnt good values from 6 year boy.

RMB333 wrote: What a lovely post, you have a heart of gold, sydney! Millions of thanks for sharing, untold blessings!

sathya wrote: Thank you for your kindness. ! It is a little deed, its impact is profound. ! I've learnt some good thing reading this article. ! God bless you.

P. Chandra wrote: What an amazing person john is!

sajha wrote: Lovely story! So true that many of us scraping by help others, maybe because we're closer to the reality of need? Your loving heart as a child was revealed by your sharing your chocolate! No small feat for a child. When my daughter was four she offered her chocolate bar to a homeless man, which he readily accepted. I was very proud of her that day. Blessings on you, saj

RMB333 wrote: Wonderful! The seeds of john's lesson got embedded in your (little) mind. The 'compassionate kindness' plant has grown in your's. It's really gorgeous! Thanks a million for sharing. Endless blessings!

Nanci wrote: I believe it is the small acts of kindness that will matter in the long run, not the big things you see in the paper. Someiemes we get discouraged because we cannot do more, but we can all be kind.

Joy wrote: What a beautiful story of kindness and compassion learned at such a young age. Thanks for sharing.

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