Giving out of nothing – A model of showing kindness




A friend sent me this story on WhatsApp and I would like to share with you. He titled it; “a lady’s remarkable experience at the Accra mall”. But I have titled it; Giving out of nothing – a model of kindness”. 

The story;
A young lady visited the Accra Shopping Mall. While standing at the entrance, she was suddenly approached by one of the Fulani girls from Mali who are always seen around town and the roadsides begging for money. The little girl smiled at the young lady and spoke pidgin saying “Aunty, make you give me money make I buy food chop – (meaning Aunty give me money to buy food)”. The young lady smiled back and replied, “I have also not eaten since morning”. The little girl asked her if it was really true and the lady said “Oh yes”. The little girl then gave all the coins she had in her hands to her to buy some food. The young lady was surprised so she asked the little girl if she could really use her money and she said yes. When the lady counted the money, it was 1 Cedi 10 pesewas. 

 The young lady after counting the money told her it won't be enough to buy the food .The girl then asked the young lady to wait for a minute. She rushed to a corner where she kept all her money and brought out 4 cedis. She told the young lady “5 cedis should be enough to buy rice”. The young lady told the young girl that she would need money to buy water. The little girl asked the young lady to wait for a moment. She went to the road side and begged people for money. After about 15 minutes, she came back with 50 pesewas and gave it to the young lady. She then told the young lady that she can give her directions to a canteen where she can get an affordable food to buy. The young lady agreed and followed her. At the canteen people starred at them whilst others told the young lady to ignore her because she was a beggar. But she did not listen to them.

At the canteen, the young lady asked the little girl some questions. The name of the little girl was Leila and she was 10 years old. The young lady then asked her why she gave her all her money. She said “You are hungry Aunty. I am a beggar and I can beg for money when I’m hungry but you cannot”. The young lady had tears in her eyes when the little girl made those comments. The people around the canteen were wondering the kind of conversation they were having. 

The young lady gave back the little girl her money. The little girl was disappointed and asked “why”. The young lady told her she was waiting for a friend she came with who was inside the Mall. When her friend came out of the mall, she ordered enough food and drinks for the little girl. She took the girl to her Car and took pictures with her.

This story has really inspired and motivated me to show kindness to people irrespective of who they are and what I have. Below are five lessons I learnt from the story.
  • We should not look down on anybody irrespective of who he/she is. The young lady did not shun the poor little girl but she engaged her in a conversation. It is a true that these little girls can be very annoying especially when they are begging for money. Irrespective of this known fact, the young lady engaged her. Had she not engaged her in the conversation, she would not have learnt this lesson.
  • Everybody deserves our kindness. The little girl did not look at how neatly dressed the young lady was and the expensive phone she was holding. She did not look at how dirty her own dress was, but rather she was willing to show kindness to her. Many times we are reluctant to show kindness to people we perceive to be better off than us. Let us show kindness to everyone irrespective of what we see.  
  • We should not disclose to people when we want to show kindness. Nowhere in the story do we see the little girl going to inform her parents before giving the money to the young lady. It is a known fact to those of us who have encountered these girls that they parents are usually seen sitting at vantage points observing their kids as they beg for money. Some of these parents beat their kids when they are seen standing idle. Amidst all these threats, the little girl went ahead to show kindness. Jesus Christ emphasized this point in Matthew 6:3 when he said that “when the right hand is doing good/showing kindness, he should not disclose it to the left hand and vice versa”.
  • We should not be distracted by people around us when we are doing something good. Both the young lady and the little girl were not distracted by the comments of the by-standers who were at the canteen. Even though the comments were not palatable, they remained focused.
  • Finally, we should show appreciation when someone extends a hand of kindness to us. Words of gratitude like “thank you, I’m grateful etc.” should always flow from our lips when someone extends a hand of kindness to us. The young lady showed appreciation by ordering enough food and drinks for the little girl. It is a heart of thanksgiving and gratitude that will always get something good for us from God. 

 Picture:  The young lady and the little girl.


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