Pam Green (left) says she is grateful for people assisting her to help a beggar get a job. Here she is with Nomsa Ncube, one of the people who gave a donation.(Image: Facebook)
It took a small action such as posting a detailed status on her Facebook profile to lead to thousands of South Africans opening their hearts to help a homeless young man find a job.
Pam Green, from Glenhazel, posted a status on 29 June, and asked her friends to share the message. They did, and the message was shared more than 34 000 times. Within days job offers streamed in for the 21-year-old, Joseph Phukube.
Green’s message read: “This is Joseph Phukube. He is a beggar in Sandton. What makes him different to every other beggar you see? He isn’t there begging for money, he is begging for a job, literally! He has his matric certificate and CV on hand.
“What a gentle young man, life has been hard on him. And his response when I asked where he stayed was ‘under Grayston Bridge.’
“This is a bright kid, just look at his maths marks, he received a university entrance!”
TRAFFIC LIGHT MEETING
Green says she met Phukube when she stopped her car at a traffic light in Sandton. “He approached my car and tried to convey to me that he was looking for a job. Embarrassed to admit, but I drove off and rushed to my appointment that I was late for.
“About 100m later, at the next robot I couldn’t bare the guilt I felt at ignoring him anymore. I turned around to go back to find Joseph Phukube and speak to him.”
The local newspaper, Sandton Chronicle, reports that Phukube has received more than 1 000 responses following Green’s Facebook update. Job offers made to him range from call centre agent positions to scholarships at various institutions.
Phukube says his dream job is in marketing. “I love new challenges, especially ones that will help me experience new things in life. I also like the chance to change businesses and come up with new ideas,” he adds.
A day after her initial post, when offers of help had started streaming in.
Her action has inspired admiration on social media, with Twitter chattering about her:
The #HelpJoseph tag really warms my heart. Please RT the hashtag.
— Opinionated Coloured(@koren_devereux) June 30, 2015
@comp_breakfast Pam Green is an amazing woman. 25k people reached out to help and support! Good luck tomorrow Joseph! #HelpJoseph
— JaxEngelbrec(@Jaxlibra) June 30, 2015
She kept the public in the loop about Phukube’s developments:
It is 5pm and it is the end of his first day of work at @LocomuteZA! #helpJoseph pic.twitter.com/dBO2jWzrF7
— Pam Green (@PamGreen_17) July 6, 2015
DETERMINED TO DO MORE
The 34-year-old says that she hopes the #helpJoseph campaign has inspired others to help even just one person in need. “I have always believed that we have a responsibility to each other to help make each other’s lives easier. I pride myself in honouring my truth.
“People have questioned his [Phukube’s] motives and my response is simple: I would rather be duped by 10 false-hearted people and know that I helped one genuine person in need, than miss the opportunity of helping 10 people because I was duped by one.”
Green, who has been doing volunteer work to help others since she was in school, says social media has definitely been a big help in assisting people in need. “I have put up previous campaigns for other community outreach projects I was involved with.
“Recently [we had a campaign] for the victims of the xenophobic attacks, where we assisted at the displacement camps, as well as assisting families to return to their country of origin. Please can people like our page, My brother’s keeper, to access information about future initiatives I will be starting.”
She is excited for Phukube, saying: “I can’t wait to see him flourish. Everyone deserves a chance and I am so glad that everyone sees the same special soul that I did. I am truly hoping that Joseph’s story will help me to help many more people in the future.”
Watch Phukube’s response following the offers of help:
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