POLOKWANE – “I hope this moment will encourage people to help one another and not be so mean to each other. We are only human.”

These are the words of 12-year-old Mila Geldenhuys, whose simple but powerful act of kindness has touched thousands of South Africans after going viral on social media last week.

A social media post detailing how Mila offered to hold a stranger’s unsettled baby so the mom could eat in peace quickly spread across the country, drawing praise from people inspired by her compassion.

Speaking to the Polokwane Observer, Mila said she was having breakfast at a local restaurant with her sister and grandmother when she noticed a baby fussing and unsettled at a nearby table.

“When the food arrived, the baby just wouldn’t settle,” she says. “I stood up and asked the mom if I could hold her.”

Although surprised at first, the mom agreed, and the baby calmed almost immediately in Mila’s arms. “She looked relieved when the baby settled and she could finish her meal,” Mila says.

Compassion rooted in faith and values

During the interview, it quickly became clear that the young girl is no stranger to helping others. Calm, confident and thoughtful, Mila speaks with a maturity beyond her years. But Mila says she didn’t do it for recognition; she was just being herself in the moment.

She told the Polokwane Observer that she didn’t understand why she was receiving recognition for something people should be doing anyway.

“It feels like I’m bragging, but I know I’m not. It was the right thing to do. I didn’t understand why people were making such a big deal about it, it was just the right thing to do.”

Mila says her kindness is rooted in her faith and the values she has been taught.

“I believe it’s what Jesus teaches us: To love and help one another. I hope people will help each other more and not judge before they act.”

Mom says ‘That’s just who she is’

Her mom, Hanneri, says Mila’s willingness to help others comes naturally. “Mila has always been a very caring and compassionate young girl. Always very sensitive to other people’s feelings and their well-being. She is a real little mom,” she says.

Hanneri adds that she wasn’t surprised by Mila’s actions because ‘that’s just who she is’. “It is only by the Grace of God that our kids turned out to be who they are today. We raise our children in the fear of the Lord and we teach them to love the Lord with all their hearts and to love their neighbours as themselves,” she says.

Hanneri says Mila has had a very tough year but that her act of kindness, which just came naturally to her and the recognition she received for it, is like a big band-aid that God placed on all her pain, disappointment and heartache.

“For us, it is a message for her, saying: Mila, God sees you! You are good enough!”

Mila is an accomplished swimmer who represents Limpopo and dreams of competing at the Olympic Games one day. For now, she hopes the moment will encourage other young people to do the same.

“Don’t think anything of it, just do it,” she confidently says.