A homeless person gave me money

#Personal#Experience : Did I ever share the story about a homeless woman with a child who once gave me RM20? Yes. It did happen.

Some years ago, I made a connection with a lady with a child who was homeless while my family and I were doing our street feeding rounds. She kept in touch with me and called me one day to say that she had gotten enough money to stay in a budget hotel for a few nights. One of the days where I was in the area, she invited me to meet her at the hotel and told me of some income opportunities she has and wanted me to give her some support. I didn’t know what “support” she meant and after a long update conversation, she asked me for some money so that she can get some clothes to re-sell and the amount she was asking for was RM100. I didn’t have any cash with me at that time and it was getting dark but I told her that I will go to the ATM to get some cash and will give her the money before I head home. She then asked me where I parked my car (and it was a pretty dark area at night) and she said in Malay, “Never mind. It’s getting dark. We can meet another time and you can pass me the money.” And then she asked me if I had money to pay for the car park. I said No. That is why I am OK to walk to the nearest ATM and get some money.

She then told me to not go to the ATM and instead looked at all the money she had with her (about RM80 plus some change) and gave me RM20. I didn’t want to accept the money because I believe she needed it more. She said, “If the money is really mine, it will come back to me” and insisted that I take the RM20 from her and not go to the ATM because she says it’s not safe when it’s dark.

True enough. I needed that RM20. The car park ticket cost me RM6. I called her the next day to say that I would like to give her some money to help her start her mini retail clothes business. She told me she received a call that day from a company that was hiring low-income single mothers as part of their CSR and someone had submitted her name as a recommendation. She was going to do telemarketing and sales and she will be getting lodging too for her and her young son. Apparently, she has been actively networking too to get back on her feet.

We stayed in touch (on and off) for about a year and the last connection I had with her was a call from her assistant at a company she was working at to invite me to a lunch event. I turned it down as I was traveling a lot at the time. But the story of this lady was powerful to me. No. Not every one of the homeless is an ex-convict or a drug addict. Her story was a case of the wrong relationship that she got involved with which led her to be homeless and penniless. I remembered what she said. “If the money is mine, it will come back to me.” The money came back to her many times back. Even though we lost touch…I still cherish the learning I received from that one encounter. True Story. LOVE & RESPECT. #murshidahsaid#murshidahsaidsharing#murshidahsaidcoaching#loveandrespect#spreadloveandrespect#socialimpact#consciousbusinessowner #loveandrespectcoach

Add a comment June 16, 2022