Frequent visitors of the Brightwater Commons will remember a man who always walked around the centre with a bunch of roses and a smile on his face for more than 22 years.
With the recent redevelopment at the centre, many restaurants have had to close permanently.
A concerned Randburg community member, Jelena Mandic said in a social media post, “It’s been empty for quite some time, so it’s no surprise… yet it makes me sad and it makes me think of one person… Ambrose, the gentleman who sells roses.”
Mandic asked the Randburg community to stand together and try and make a difference in Ambrose Vasco Nkosi’s life “as he has made a big impact on so many of us”.
The reality is that his place of business is turning into a construction site and Mandic has appealed to the community to find him a new place of business where he can continue doing what he has been doing for the past 22 years, selling roses.
On 1 December, Mandic met Nkosi and his family to hand them the goods the community collected for him.
“He was so overwhelmed… Once I had a chat with him and he told me his story. He started off at Bruma Lake washing cars.”
Nkosi told her, “One day when washing a florist’s car, I found her wallet, returned it and in exchange she offered me a new job selling roses.
“My roses were selling at R5 and I was getting R1 for each rose sold and on my first night I made over R100. I have three daughters and it takes me over two hours to get to the centre at a cost of around R40 per trip.”
Mandic said that the social media response from the Randburg community has been overwhelming, with many people sharing their stories of how Nkosi touched their lives over the years.
Mandic said, “Maybe Brightwater will get better, but for now it’s a construction site, and we all know what that means for Ambrose. So I’d like to ask the community to help me try and make a difference in Ambrose’s life.”
Mandic is appealing to the community to help find Ambrose a busy mall that will take him with arms wide open during Brightwater’s redevelopment.
“Ambrose lives in Katlehong, but doesn’t mind travelling.”
Details: Jelena Mandic 078 423 7299.
