A hug from an e-hailing driver that saved a woman’s life
Four years ago, when Gqeberha e-hailing driver Bartho Dick noticed one of his passengers was not feeling well, he felt compelled to park on the side of the road and hug her as she burst into tears and sobbed in his arms.
This past weekend, Natasha Mulusa’s post on Facebook went viral as she was trying to reach out to him — the man she said had unwittingly saved her from suicide during their chance encounter in his vehicle in February 2020.
The overwhelming response from the public has made Dick reflect on his battle with thoughts of suicide, and he hopes to arrange a reunion with his former passenger to give her another hug.
“I never wanted to be an ehailer. It was never part of my plan,” he said.
“But four years down the line I’ve come to realise this is exactly where I need to be.
“God put me in this position and a woman’s life was saved because of it.” Mulusa could not be reached for comment, but posted yesterday that she had had a video call with the e-hailing driver.
The post read: “To everyone who shared the post, from the bottom of my heart thank you! I found him, [and] we videocalled, cried and laughed. Glory be to God!”
Their chance meeting came against the backdrop of many challenges for the reluctant ehailer.
About five years ago, he had aspirations of opening a bottle store at his old family home in Booysen Park.
After pouring his savings into the prospective business, his mother died and a family feud led to the idea collapsing and Dick sitting with very little to his name.
“I was left with nothing but a R50 note in my pocket.
“I had no idea what I was going to do, or where I was going to get money. The ads for ehailing drivers kept popping up on my social media.
“I had nothing to lose and I
realised if I didn’t get up and do something with my life, I might never get up again.”
He started the process of registering with an e-hailing service at the end of 2019.
At first, the going was slow as he had no vehicle of his own and had to wait for someone else to arrange a vehicle for him.
But by February 2020, he found a set of wheels and was driving daily.
He had been working for about three weeks when he accepted a trip from 5th Avenue, Walmer.
He picked Mulusa up and was on his way to drop her off in Central when he noticed something was not right.
“I asked her if she was OK. She said yes, but I just had this feeling something was off.
“I told her: No, you are not fine. I pulled the car over on the side of the road at the bottom of Brickmakers Kloof. She just burst into tears,” Dick said.
Mulusa wrote a heartfelt post on Facebook in an attempt to reach out to Dick to thank him for what he did that day.
In the post, she explained how she was at her lowest, trying to hide her true feelings, and how she had her misgivings when he stopped the car to console her.
“I remember this driver asking me: ‘How are you?’ And man, I don’t know what happened that day, but I just burst into the loudest cry.
“I was so angry with myself because why was I crying in front of a stranger!
“I remember how he told me to calm down and asked me kindly if he could stop somewhere.
“My immediate thought was: ‘This man better not take advantage of this situation.’ But something in my spirit could feel that he was God sent.”
She recounted how he had told her to get out of the car and there, on the side of the road, he had hugged her and she had broken down, sobbing inconsolably.
“I never shared much details about what was ... happening in my life but he gave me a word from God,” she said.
“I don’t remember his exact words but I remember very well that it helped and healed me so much.
“He may not know it but on that day I was ready to commit suicide.
“I was ready to end it all and just throw in the towel. I was exhausted.
“Thank you Bartho. It’s taken me years to do this but I guess, better late than never.
“Words or any gift will never match what you did for my life that day. I know God placed you in my life that day to save me.”
On Sunday, Dick woke up to a message on his phone telling him to check Facebook as someone had written a post about him.
He did not check right away. Later, he received another message on social media and it started to worry him.
He picked up one of his regular clients and asked her to read the message for him, as he was too nervous, but after reading it she told him it was something he had to read for himself.
“After dropping her off I started reading this young lady’s message and I could not stop the tears rolling down my face.
“For years, I have driven past the spot where I picked her up and wondered what happened to her, if she was OK.
“This message made me realise I am exactly where God wants me to be, and I am making a difference,” Dick said.
He explained that 17 years ago he had also struggled with depression and thoughts of suicide.
He contacted an emergency call centre where a woman spoke to him at length, saving his life in the process.
“It was hard to believe that I was able to do the same thing for this young woman,” he said.
“I hope we can meet up again.
“I am really happy to hear she is still alive and I just want to give her another big hug.”