St George's Day - 23 April 2022
Chain of Good Turns
A man was riding his bicycle when he saw an old lady, stranded on the road side. He realized that she needed help, he stopped near where the lady was. The lady was worried, as nobody had stopped for hours while she spent on the roadside. The man could see how frightened she was and he tried to calm her: I‘m here to help you, don‘t worry. The tire was flat and the man had to crawl under the car to help and change the tire. While fixing the tire he got dirty and hurt himself in the process. When the job was done, the lady asked how much she owed him for his help. The man smiled. He said: If you really want to pay me back, the next time you see someone who needs help, give that person the needed assistance. As you do it think of me“. The woman could not believe that someone riding a bicycle can help without expecting payment.
One of those days the same lady was driving her luxurious car deep in the village when she found a lady with her husband with a bicycle struggling to reach a health center for the lady to give birth, she was in deep pain and not able to sit on the bicycle. The lady remembered the help she received from a stranger, she stopped her car, helped the husband to carry the woman in the car to a hospital where she paid all the bills and she left, before she could leave the husband thanked her very much asked how much he could pay for her for the help. The lady told him If you really want to pay me back, the next time you see someone, who needs help, give that person the needed assistance, and think of me “The man was in shock because much as he wanted to pay back he did not have the money to do so. He wondered how a stranger can be so kind to sacrifice a car, time and money to help a poor stranger who will never pay back and the kindness continued…
This reminds me during the 2nd African Scout jamboree in Uganda during my first ever big scout event. It was interesting to see so many scouts from many countries, and it was fun so I kept moving outside my campsite to other campsites to have fun and for two days I missed meals from my scout group. After two days without food I was very hungry and I did not have money to buy even something little to eat. I gathered strength and courage an approached a lady selling boiled cassava in the campsite, I begged for a piece of cassava because I was dying of hunger. The women was kind to me, she gave me more than one piece, she took me to her home and told whenever I am hungry I should just go home and eat. I enjoyed my stay in the camp until we left. I always remember this lady without any hope of seeing her because it is now over 30 years.
As we celebrate St George’s day, let us remember his kindness and the kindness other people whom we don’t know have showed to us and we also keep the same kindness moving.
Mathius Lukwago, ex World Committee member and member of NSGF Uganda
pdf
St George 2022, CB Uruguay(1.01 MB)
pdf St George 2022, NSGF Argentina(1.55 MB)
pdf St George 2022, NSGF Austria(1.18 MB)