A touching display of kindness unfolded on Samora Machel Drive in Mbombela on Wednesday when a Good Samaritan came to the aid of a stranded mother and daughter.

Octilia Green and her young daughter found themselves stranded under the bridge near Hall’s after their Ford Figo broke down. A passing young woman immediately stopped to help.

Green shared her gratitude on the #ImStaying Facebook group: “I’d like to appreciate this lovely lady who stopped to help my daughter and me in the rain on the busy N4 just outside of Mbombela.

“I’m still in awe! She identified the problem, fixed it, and drove behind us for about seven minutes to make sure we were okay. If you see this post, Kiddy, I appreciate you and would love to buy you a coffee sometime. My daughter can’t stop talking about you,” the post read.

By 10:30 on Thursday, Green’s post had been shared 384 times and gathered over 423 comments. The helpful stranger was soon identified as Thea McDonald, a 33-year-old Pilates, stretch, and mobility instructor at ANEW Resort White River.

McDonald, who has honed her mechanical skills over the years by working on her VW Golf, quickly assessed the Figo’s issue. She determined it was the distributor cap that had popped off and got the car running again, allowing the grateful mother and daughter to continue their journey.

Not only did McDonald repair the vehicle, but she also followed Green and her daughter briefly before heading to Rocky Drift for an errand.

“I’ve had my fair share of car troubles and learned a few fixes. If you drive older cars, you pick up on these things. One should help where they can,” McDonald told Lowvelder.

Green’s post attracted an outpouring of praise for McDonald’s actions:

” … and that’s what we should be teaching both our daughters and sons. Huge respect,” said Jadzia Sham.

“Hats off to this wonderful stranger for showing kindness and compassion!” said Marianne Lotter.

“Besides being an awesome human, you go, girl,” said Linda Naidoo.

“If you choose one thing, choose kindness! Thanks, lady,” said Maryke Kruger.

Hlologelo Malatji added: “In the meantime, invest in teaching your daughter the basics of a car: Topping up coolant, checking battery connections, changing a tyre, [and] jump-starting. We live in a dangerous country, a female shouldn’t be stuck in some dodgy areas.”