After leaving a store in Virginia, 6 year old Janiyah displayed the degree of kindness that everyone should aspire to. She saw a man crying and responded with empathy and decency.
Janiyah spoke to him saying, “Hi sir be happy it’s a nice day it’s not raining. Are you hot ? Why don’t you go home the ground is dirty?”
The girl and her mother had a small conversation and he explained his trailer burned down and he lost everything including his wife.
After learning of his dilemma she asked, “So that means you’re homeless? So you have no food because you have no refrigerator?”
She then gave him a few dollars out of her purse and her drink and said, “Please go eat. It would make me happy. I like McDonald’s you should go there.”
Gratitude as well as surprise lit the man’s face.
Janiyah didn’t need to be instructed to feel for another person in need and she didn’t need to be told what was in it for her. Compassion was the first and natural instinct.
Her act of kindness became contagious as other passer-bys came over and contributed what they could to the unfortunate gentleman.
This is what unity can look like.
Janiyah’s mother and Janiyah subsequently started a GoFundMe campaign that exceeded their initial goal.
The lesson to be learned is that either of these two individuals could be any of us – how would you respond?
