Many have either been or met a Good Samaritan in their lives. However, not many have found themselves in a similar position to Gebregziabher Fitwi Berhe (Gabriel) where a Good Samaritan becomes family.

Originally from Eritrea, Gabriel arrived in South Africa in 2002 before moving to the small Eastern Cape town of Mount Fletcher in 2004, where he met Sizakele Gumede, an elderly woman from the area who turned 92 last Saturday.

“When I arrived I needed a place for storage because I didn’t have the space. I sell clothes on the street so I needed a place to keep my stock. That’s when a few people suggested that I approach mam’Sizakele and that she would help me,” Gabriel said.

This would be the beginning of a family as Gabriel and mam’Sizakele would form a bond that would see them become like ‘mother and son’.

In 2013, Gabriel took her for a heart operation to Chief Albert Luthuli Hospital in Durban, having been transferred from a hospital in Kokstad.

In 2014 and 2015, he took her to Port Shepstone Regional Hospital for an operation to both eyes.

The bond between them would only be made stronger when Gabriel moved to the South Coast at the end of 2016. In early 2017, he moved in with mam’Sizakele to take better care of her.

“It’s really cold in Mount Fletcher and with her age, she’s in constant need of medical attention, so I found that it was best that she lived with me so I can take better care of her,” Gabriel said.

“When I had no-one on my side, I had her. She took care of me and I will always take care of her as she is now truly my own mother, and I am just happy that I am able to appreciate her for her birthday,” he added.

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