Yesterday, our helper asked me if I wanted to buy some fish from a vendor outside our house. Then she mentioned something that concerned me, she said the man was sitting in the middle of the street and shaking. I went outside to check on him and found him near our gate. I asked if he was okay and offered him some water, but he told me our neighbor had already given him a glass. I asked how much his fish was. “₱250 per kilo.” I looked at what he had left and told him, “Okay. I’ll buy all of it.” He immediately became so thankful. I gave him some extra money, but he didn’t even want to accept it. He told me he wouldn’t be able to pay me back. I told him, “You don’t have to pay me back. I’m not asking you to.” Then I noticed he also had squid. I asked how much it was, and when he told me the price, I said, “I’ll buy all of that too.” He was so happy that he tried to give me a discount . I told him, “No, you don’t have to do that.” As we continued talking, we started learning why this man was struggling so badly. He told us he hadn’t eaten since the other day. He had recently suffered a stroke and had also been in an accident. He could barely walk, but he was still out there trying to sell fish because he has four children to feed. He said he had managed to buy half a kilo of rice for his children. Then I asked where they lived. He told us that he and his children live under a bridge. That broke my heart. One of his children is also sick with sepsis and needs medicine. And still, this man wasn’t standing outside begging anyone for money. He was trying to work. He was trying to sell fish that he had gotten from someone else so he could make a little money and feed his children. He even told us that some workers at a construction site in the neighborhood owed him money for fish they had taken. When he tried asking them to pay what they owed, they threatened to beat him if he asked again. Some had even taken fish from him without paying fish that weren’t really his to lose. My mom and I were almost in tears listening to him. I gave him ₱1,000. What he did next is something I don’t think I’ll forget. Before thanking me, he looked up, knelt down, and thanked God. “Thank you, God. Thank you, Jesus, for this blessing.” Then he thanked me. Here was a man who had barely eaten, who could barely walk, who had suffered a stroke and an accident, who was trying to care for four children while living under a bridge, and who had a sick child needing medicine… Yet he wasn’t begging. He was outside hustling, trying to earn what little he could for his family. I’m not sharing this because I want praise for helping him. ₱1,000 may not change his entire life. Buying his fish and squid won’t solve everything his family is facing. I’m sharing it because sometimes we need a reminder of how different someone else’s reality can be just a few steps outside our own gate. Sometimes we become overwhelmed by the problems in our own lives and forget that there are people quietly fighting battles we know nothing about. So if you ever feel like life has given you nothing, go outside. Look around. Talk to people. Listen to their stories. And when you have the opportunity to help someone even in a small way help them. You may forget the money you gave. But you probably won’t forget the moment someone fell to their knees and thanked God because, for that day, they could feed their children. He also mentioned he have an asthma and i told him to come back i will buy him a nebulizer, if you want to extend some help let me know. Let’s spread some love ❤️ - @bethanythevalady