By Agnes Gilbert
Sometimes we find humanity in places where we least expect, other times we are disappointed when we have high hopes of someone only to realize they are not as humane as we thought. Here's the story of a selfless little girl who sadly, begs for a living. Her name is Leila.
A young lady visited the Ikeja Mall . While standing at the entrance, She was suddenly approached by one of the Fulani girls from the maghreb who beg for money. The little girl smiled towards the young lady and spoke pidgin saying "Aunty, make you give me money make I buy food chop". Then the young lady smiled back and replied, "I have not also eaten since morning".
The little girl asked her if its really true and the Lady said "Oh yes". Then the little girl handed the lady all the naira notes she had in her hand 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 100 and 10 naira .
The lady then told her it won't be enough to buy food .The girl then asked the young lady to wait for a minute. The girl rushed to a corner where she keeps all her money and brought 200 naira. Then the little girl said "300 naira should be enough to buy rice" . The lady then told her that she would still need water. She then asked the young lady to wait so she begs people for money for her. After about 15 minutes, the little girl came back with 10 naira and gave to the young lady. She then told the young lady that She can give her directions to a canteen which food is affordable .
The young lady followed her. While the young lady was engaging her in conversation at the canteen,
People starred at them and others said the young lady shouldn't mind her because she was a beggar but she ignored them.
While they waited, the young lady asked her some questions. The little girl was called Leila and was10yrs old.
Then the young lady asked why she gave her all her money. This was her reply in english.
she said "You are hungry Aunty. I am a beggar and I can beg for money when am hungry but you cannot". At this point, the young lady had tears in her eyes and now people were wondering what conversation they were having that had put tears in her eyes.
She gave her back her money but the girl was disappionted so she asked why.The young lady told her that she was only waiting for a friend who is inside the Mall and wanted company. She ordered enough food for the girl and some drinks. She took the girl to her Car and took pictures with her.
0 Comments