Beggar gets creative
I had a massive lump in my throat while driving to work this morning.
![](https://images.caxton.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2013/11/letters-Medium.jpg)
Instead of listening to a CD in the car, I tuned in to Jacaranda FM and heard something really heartwarming.
The presenter on air told his listeners of Moses, a 25-year-old man who stands at a robot in Johannesburg advertising isiZulu lessons to passing motorists.
The young entrepreneur gives commuters the opportunity to ask him to translate an English word into isiZulu and then helps with the pronunciation of the word.
Motorists cough up R1 a word.
The young “educator” told listeners he earns about R80 a day, depending on the time of the month.
I was immediately overcome by emotion and taken aback at the level of maturity displayed by Moses.
The majority of people you see standing at robots today are begging for your money, faking some kind of illness or disability or mucking up your windscreen with dirty water and window cleaner.
Here was a man who was using his language and passing on his knowledge on to willing patrons.
I thought the story would end there: another man on the street doing his utmost to make a buck, with no possibility of a sustainable future.
I was wrong; I could tell by the lump in my throat.
The radio station called a representative at a sound engineering academy.
This individual offered Moses an opportunity to study towards a qualification in sound engineering, free of charge.
Depending on his performance, the Grade 11 graduate will possibly be entered into a three year bursary.
Isn’t this great?
The abject situation faced by the Moses is, in all likelihood, a thing of the past.
Instead of sustaining his life on the street, someone has given him the opportunity to change his life around.
This is what people should look to do when they help the less fortunate, ideally.
Donating R2 to a beggar fills a small hole in their life, but giving them a fishing rod instead of the fish makes a far bigger difference.