Mercifully for South Africans, it has not been a year filled with overwhelming tragedy. Rather it has been a year when the shameless deeds of the political elite and their patronage clients have cast shame on the citizens of this fair land. From Nkandla to the crony enrichment scheme proposed by Dudu Myeni of SAA, moral turpitude has been exposed at every turn. The selfless actions of Nhlanhla Nene gave South African pause to reflect that a few – too few perhaps – are prepared to act without fear or favour in South Africa. Even though this act is widely regarded as worthy of the highest recognition, Nene will not be the subject of this year’s award.
This is the season of the year to celebrate a random act of kindness. This selfless act is an inspiring story of compassion, the more so when the benefactor need not have been as magnanimous or generous.
After you have read the story, please watch the abridged show on the YouTube video below.
This story is derived from an American TV Show about an undercover boss who is “trained” by an incredibly positive and hard-working female employee. Even though her life story is more heart breaking than the “trainees” supposed story that his pizza joint had gone bankrupt, she commiserates with him. Her words of encouragement touch her undercover boss.
Story line
Angel, a single mother of three, knows exactly what it’s like to fall upon some hard times. Although she is an incredibly hardworking, positive woman, while pregnant with her third child, she suffered financially and was forced to move into a homeless shelter.
She had been living there for about two years when her life changed after an unexpected visit from the CEO of Modell Sporting Goods, the store where she had been working for quite some time.
When Mitch Modell went undercover and pretended to be a new hire, Angel took him under her wing and mentored him for the day. But when he finally heard her story about the life she had been living, it really hit him hard.
So, he decided to do something about it and change her life.
Angel training her undercover boss
Modell met with Angel and revealed that he was promoting her to an assistant manager position and that her annual salary would increase by $14,000. And that’s not even the best part.
He then told her that he couldn’t bear knowing that she had to go home each night after work to a homeless shelter. That’s when he pulled out a check for $250,000, saying through tears, “I want you to move out of there immediately, like tonight.”
It is not necessary to have been as lavish in one’s generosity as this undercover boss but rather whether you have touched a stranger this year with a random act of kindness and compassion.
Have you?
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