A resident from Tzaneen, Elize Botha, recently realised that good Samaritans still exists in a world were corruption and violence are the norm.
Headlines of a corrupt and evil world are splashed out on front pages and the rest of the news is like a menu in a third grade restaurant, where you just know that the dessert is going to be just as bad as the starter and the main course…well, nowhere even close to perfection.
What has become of our world?
But it only took one man to change her perception in a flash, that there are still good news and good people.
Elize visited the Lifestyle Centre recently with her grandson, Liam.
‘I actually just went to PNA to purchase envelopes for the school reports,’ says Elize, who is an old Tzaneen Primary School teacher, who now keeps her busy with home schooling.
After shopping, they went to the car.
‘I wrapped my purse and cellphone in my grandson’s jacket and put it in the trolley during our shopping. I must have been deep in thought when I packed the shopping in the car. I did take my phone out of the wrapped-up jacket, but somehow unknowingly my purse was left behind.
‘ I didn’t realise that I left my purse in the trolley and went to visit a friend,’ she told the Herald.
Meanwhile the purse was gone and Elize would’ve eventually realised, that the long replacement process consisting of standing in hour long queues would be the order of the next few days.
But a good Samaritan, Pastor Dermas Balyoi (47), from Xohoko, with his ministry in N’wamitwa, saw the lost purse in the trolley close to the shop Fish-aways.
He openend the pursue.
‘I was obliged to return it to the person to whom it belonged. I had this urge to find this person,’ Dermas tells honestly.
Elize bought Dermas to Mopani Herald’s office to tell the story.
‘All roads lead to…,’ Dermas was lost without words but we all know how this famous saying ends.
Elize interrupted.
‘There was not a lot off cash in my purse, I think about R30. But it was so odd, I would never imagined that anyone one would even bother to give it back to me,’ Elize said.
They both laugh.
Pastor Dermas at first thought to go to the banks so that they (the bank) could use the bank card details, to try and locate Elize. But time was not on his side, as the banks had already closed.
He then went to Clicks in Tzaneng Mall with her Clicks card. He explained the situation to them and the friendly staff helped him.
They scanned the card and they phoned a landline number included in the information supplied by the computer.
But no luck. Only a voice message.
Pastor Dermas was determined.
He went through the cash slips in the purse. On one of the slips he found a a cell-number written in ink.
“I thought that I would phone the number, maybe it would be someone who knew her,’ he tells.
He phoned.
It was by grace that it was Elize’s personal phone number.
Elize said by some miracle she vaguely remembers that she wrote her number on a recharge voucher not so long ago.
‘I was totally dumbstruck. At first I did not know what this person was talking about, he kept asking me if I lost my purse, and I said no. He asked me again if I am sure, and I went to check in the car where I would normally put my purse. It was then that I realised I had lost it.’
They arranged a meeting at the Lifestyle Centre and Pastor Dermas handed over her purse.
Elize even apologised that there is only R30 in the purse and offer to withdraw more money as a reward.
Pastor Dermas declined the offer.
‘I couldn’t accept a reward. I thought on what this person was supposed to go through if her pursue was gone. To replace everything, the pastor told the Herald.
Silence.
‘ I am so gratefull. It is praiseworthy. May you be blessed, Dermas,’ said Elize.
‘If I look at her as an elderly woman, and I know she is, because I saw her date of birth on her drivers licence, then I feel good. She does not deserve to go through it all again to get all her cards back.’ say Dermas.
He would like to give a message to everyone out there, reading this article.
‘Listen to your conscience. If something is not yours, return it. Don’t do to others what you wont bestow upon yourself,’ Dermas said.
It is not the first time that this Samaritan returns someone’s wallet.
A few years ago, he picked up in a lift in Tzaneng Mall.
‘There was really a lot of money inside. I did not count it. I just couldn’t because the money wasn’t mine,’ he told the Herald.
He also went to a bank, were after some persuasion , the bank phoned the owner.
‘I told them I’am not going anywhere until you phoned this person so that I can return the person’s wallet,’
Silence again.
A calm, restful silence….almost holy.
Dermas is there something more you want to tell us?
He looks satisfied and gratefull at Elize.
‘No I am a man of few words. I am just happy to see my ‘mother’ is now fine,’ he says in true traditional fashion.
Any good news story we need to know about, email: bertus@herald.co.za
