Stranger pays woman’s R1 000 grocery bill

I’M STAYING, a public Facebook group, has gained more than 1.2 million members over the years. A forum for heart-warming stories, it focusses on the beauty and positivity in South Africa, all in the spirit of ubuntu.

But a recent post by Kutty Chabangu caught our attention. Posting on behalf of her sister, she shared a story of how a complete stranger came to the rescue during a shopping trip.

Sharing a picture of the till slip which amounted to just over R1 000 from Pick n Pay River Crescent in Witbank, Chabangu wrote: “My sister asked me to post on her behalf.

“Today around 2pm after work she went to do groceries at Pick n Pay River Crescent in Witbank. When she arrived at the till both her cards gave her a problem.

“When she was about to make a call about the cards the cashier alerted her of someone talking behind her.”

When she turned around, there was a man who said he’d pay for the groceries.

“My sister got shocked and asked the guy if he can see it’s R1 000 not R100. The gentleman said ‘I will pay for it’. My sister was so shocked and she couldn’t believe it.”

The stranger gave his name as “Willhem” or “Vellhem”, and that’s about the only information she got out of him.

“I just want to say thank you to this gentleman, it is people like him that make this country a wonderful place to live in. May God bless him abundantly and for that,” ended Chabangu.

The gesture of goodwill which happened last week was noticed by Facebook users – the post already has 26 000 likes.