Readers wanted to help: Rose had to leave her native Venezuela and her baby to send home food.The power of crowdfunding was never more apparent or more inspiring. This story is a reminder that one small act of kindness can make a real difference in someone’s life.
Two days ago Humans of New York (HONY) posted an interview with Rose, a woman who, because of economic and political conditions in her native Venezuela, “lost everything” and had to leave her the country – and her own baby –behind.
Rose, now in Bogotá, Colombia, told HONY that she had lost her business after “the government began to take 70% of my earnings,” and while she did not have much money, there was nowhere to buy food with what little she did have.
“I’d wait in line all day for one bag of flour. We could go days without eating. When I tried to breastfeed my daughter, I’d almost faint. Leaving the country was my only chance.”
Rose said she, a woman had once owned three businesses and graduated at the top of her class at university, was selling key chains on the street in order to send food back home to Venezuela. The interpreter who assisted with the interview, Juan Laserna, moved by Rose’s story, started what he called a “small fundraiser” to help her.
The story went viral, and the “small fundraiser” took on a life of its own. After two days, Laserna, with the help of 6,094 people, had raised $118,084 for Rose. That’s 2,362 percent of his $5,000 goal. By contributing an average of less than $20 per person, more than 6,000 kind people will make a real difference in someone’s life.
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This money will make it possible for Rose to provide for her family and reunite with her child. We pray for Rose, and the rest of Venezuela, and give thanks for the reminder of the good that kindness can do.
