Homeless boy walks up to car begging for money—a brief chat with passenger left him in tears and changed his life forever

As human beings, compassion should be one of our primary responses to most situations. It prompts us to do some of the most selfless actions that define humanity. When a journalist, Njogu Wa Njoroge, witnessed this gesture, he couldn't stop himself from sharing the incredible story of a young boy named John Thuo. The little boy, who was homeless and begging on the streets, managed to teach an inspiring life lesson after a tear-jerking encounter with a passerby, Gladys Kamande. Sharing his story, Njoroge became an instrumental link in changing the boy’s life. “Meet John Thuo, the homeless youth who broke into tears on his first encounter with Gladys Kamande,” he wrote.

Thuo would beg on the streets of Nairobi, Kenya, in hopes of making a living, day after day. However, apart from having financial burdens, Thuo also had a selfless spirit and kindness in his heart. Sharing his heartbreaking past, the post revealed how the boy came to the streets. After watching his late mother being abused by his drunk father, the boy suffered even more torment. "One day, my father found my mother cooking rice and threw it out of the house and spilled it. We were evicted and went to live in rented houses. One day in 2014, while she was going to buy things from the market, my mother was hit by a car and died. I was in standard four,” Thuo mentioned.

The boy was left homeless and without family and his other siblings were “taken by the government." Thuo had to find a way to survive and took up a job as a cowherd. This was short-lived and the boy was fired, after which he had no choice but to move to the streets. Thuo recalled having heard about Kamande and wanted to see her out of curiosity. "I heard from my colleagues that there was a mother carrying air for herself. So I went to see her,” he said. Kamande explained to Thuo that her lungs had collapsed and she needed the oxygen tanks to live. When the boy spotted her, he was moved to tears. He empathized with the woman and felt so sad that he cried.

Kamande entertained all of his questions and even explained that she had 12 surgeries, one of which caused her to go blind, per Inspiremore. His kindness pushed him to take out all the money he had with him and give it to the woman. The boy had a simple idea behind helping Kamande at the cost of his livelihood. He simply knew that if he was in the same position, others would have come to his aid. Thuo even held the woman's hand and prayed for her. After the post was shared, Thuo’s compassion and Kamande’s story went viral. People even donated for the woman’s treatment and for the boy to be moved to a child’s care where he could attend school.

After people raised over $65,285 for the boy and the woman, their lives were turned around. Thuo bonded with Kamande and stuck with her thereafter. Despite being in the children’s home, he considered the woman his mum and did his best to bond with her. Kamande was soon able to see after her treatment. Thuo's story also had a wholesome ending as a post on X by @KinyanBoy revealed that another woman adopted Thuo, giving him a fresh start in life.