A recent photo shows a homeless man cleaning the beach, allowing vacationers to enjoy their fun in the sun.
Jay Margolis, an entrepreneur who lives in Cape Town, South Africa, recently shared photos on Facebook, which featured a homeless man named Siyabulela "Dan" Magobiyane, picking up trash in Bantry Bay, a wealthy suburb. Margolis, who shared the photos to spur others to help the stranger, wrote that Magobiyane cares about the environment.
"Turns out, he's 'embarrassed about the pollution, and wants the beaches looking good for the tourists, and for the sea,'" Margolis wrote in his post. "He hasn't been asked to do this, and doesn't have a job. He goes on to tell me that he cleans the beaches every day, and for no reason other than he wants to 'make the place nice.'"
Magobiyane and his work ended up going viral across social media and with the help of the Internet, he landed a job with a waste management service and now has a temporary place to stay, according to CapeTalk.
The entrepreneur told BuzzFeed News that Magobiyane fell on hard times after his previous work ended, which led to his homelessness.
“He moved to Ceres with his family to pick fruit. It's seasonal work, so when that finished, he moved to Cape Town, but ran out of money and found himself homeless,” he explained to the outlet. “He’s been embarrassed to go home and wants to make something of his life.”
When Margolis first saw Magobiyane, he was waiting for a client. The entrepreneur said he witnessed Magobiyane throw some garbage bags into a trash bin. He saw the thoughtful man do the same several more times, according to Margolis' Facebook post.
After the pair had the chance to chat, Margolis bought Magobiyane lunch and, inspired by the homeless man's love and care for his surroundings, shared the Facebook post to pay the kindness forward.
Since their initial meeting, Margolis has reunited with Magobiyane and even met with a social worker to come up with a plan to help the man land on his feet. Magobiyane was placed in a shelter, where he'll be able to stay for about three to six months, until he gets permanent housing, the entrepreneur told CapeTalk. Waste management service Cape Skip, where Magobiyane was offered a job, also came up with a plan for the new worker.
"He's going to be an assistant driver and the good news is that Cape Skip is very committed to up-skilling him, so he won't remain in the cycle of unskilled labor," Margolis explained on CapeTalk. "They want to get him a driver's license [and] his own truck."
In addition to a job and shelter, law firm Norman, Wink and Stephens also helped set up a trust fund for the man, to which people can donate money and help contribute to permanent housing costs and belongings for Magobiyane, according to Margolis.
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