A new bike for a struggling worker in Mamelodi proves small gestures of care can make a meaningful difference.
It is a sad indictment of our fractured and cynical society that there will be those who will scoff at, or criticise our story on page 6 today about a simple, random act of kindness.
There are those who might argue that Pretoria East resident Elaine Wise was doing nothing more than assuaging her own sense of guilt at her “white privilege” by buying Peter Ngwenya, 28, from Mamelodi a brand-new bicycle.
Wise noticed that Ngwenya, who works at a factory in the area, was battling along on his wrecked old bike, which had been patched together.
But, her motive was simpler.
She comes from a family where her parents always helped, where they could, those who were struggling and worse off than they were.
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She was just following their example.
And why can we not celebrate that fact – that there are still people out there who care?
These people are prepared to share and to connect with others.
Away from toxic social media, away from the horror of a perceived race-based “persecution”, or even a “genocide” against whites, South Africans are trying to be kind to each other.
At this time of the year, why not copy these random acts of kindness?
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