Most young people, especially those living in remote regions, are forced to leave the place where they were born and grew up, and reach the big cities in the hope of finding a better future. In today’s story we have such a young man, who loved the Orthodox Church since he was a little child. It is this Church that taught him a lot of virtues, such as sincerity, discipline, modesty and many others. He was in Nairobi looking for a job that would help him build his future. One day, as he was walking and thinking to himself, he suddenly saw a car spinning in an uneven motion. He immediately ran after it and despite the risk of being injured, he tried, to stop it. Fortunately, by skillfully getting in, he did manage to stop the car. He was greatly surprised noticing that the driver had lost his senses and the car was practically uncontrolled. Being a driver himself, he acted promptly and without delay to save the unknown driver. Here we should mention that the Church helped him go to a driving school, so he acquired driving skills.
Seeing the driver’s condition, he felt genuine concern for his fellow man, and without wasting any time, he drove to the nearest hospital, where he took him to the emergency department so that first aid was given to the unfortunate driver. And so it happened. After finding that his state of health was serious, he was immediately taken to the intensive care unit. Thank God in a few hours the doctors were able to bring him back to a point where he could, somehow, speak. When he saw who he was surrounded by, he asked to see that unknown man who had saved his life. Everybody thought that his savior was his chauffer. He himself did not even know the name of the man who had saved his life at the last minute. Indeed, they soon brought the young man in, and everyone was taken by surprise when he introduced himself. When they learned the whole story, they could not believe their ears. The injured man asked him if he worked and when the latter revealed to him that he was looking for a job, the former, without delay, told him that from then on he would be his permanent and official driver. The young man, amazed by the outcome of this meeting, confessed that he had helped him not in the hope of a reward but because he felt that he had to save the life of his fellow man, or else the latter would eventually die. It was an emotional moment when the man embraced him, thanking him for his altruistic act. The young man of our story stayed with him and when the man’s wife and his children visited him, he officially announced to them that their family had got another new member.
Hearing this story which is so real and so unbelievable at the same time, one might think that all these are myths or figments of our imagination. Yet, they are all true and tangible because we live such things daily, we have a personal experience of them, we see the whole magnitude of the value of altruistic acts like that because we discover that in the end, our efforts are not lost. We see that the words we use and the deeds which accompany them so as to convince people of their sincerity, especially the young ones, bear fruit.
Now this young man is with the family of the stranger whose life was saved by his act. He enjoys so much happiness, because with his act he showed high moral standards, solidarity, selflessness, sincerity, honesty and humility, what I teach to young people every day. He is happy with the people of his tribe and his family, and is grateful for finding what he has been looking for all these years: a decent job to earn his living. And the way he found it was so miraculous that everyone can see GOD’s plan and providence!
† Makarios of Kenya
