Lucky Lucky! The man at the traffic light with a talented son

Have you ever wondered about the personal life of the man at the traffic light (or robot)? A post is going viral on SA social media pages, about one such man – his name is Lucky, and he got lucky when one motorist, decided to do a u-turn and find out more. Kind-hearted Lana Brunner published her post on a private group and asked South Africans to copy and paste her message to spread the word about Lucky and his talented son. Here’s the message:

“I’m visiting in Centurion from Barberton. My sis lives here. And, coming down Rooihuiskraal Road this afternoon, at the corner of Reddersburg, was “The man at the traffic light”.

“We’re used to this sight, aren’t we? And we feel guilty. Because, if we gave R5 to every guy at every traffic light, we’d be looking at about R200 per day on top of a budget that gets tighter every month – Eishkom and other political disasters, you know…

“So we say a small prayer for the poor, keep our windows closed, and pretend that they’re not there… many of us crying inside.

“But today, I saw him:

“The “Guy at the traffic light”.

“What struck me about this guy, though, was that he was a respectable-looking middle-aged gentleman, holding up one item of clothing to show the drivers that were stopped at the light:

“A very unusual demin skirt, which looked like it had been carefully crafted from up-cycled demin clothing. Curious me just had to know: So, atypically, I wound down my window and asked him what he was selling.

“And he very eagerly told me that he wasn’t trying to sell anything. He was trying to raise funds for one of his sons, who desperately wanted to go to fashion-design school. I am not in a position to spare much. In fact, I gave my last R5 cash to a parking attendant yesterday.

“But at the next intersection, I had to make a U-Turn – because I had to know more. Something beyond me was urging me that this was important. And nope – it’s not something that I’ve ever done before.

“So I stopped at the garage on the corner, got out, bought a cold-drink for him (I had to swipe for that – plastic, you know), and called him over to find out more.

“He came from a rural area yesterday morning early – somewhere North of Pretoria, out on the Moloto Road. He slept outside in the cold, under a bridge in a ditch last night, just so that he could stand in the sun again today in “the city”, to try and secure a future for his son – one that he wasn’t able to dream for himself. His name is Lucky. His son’s name is Emmanuel.

“Lucky and I chatted for a while about the sad state of our nation, and about how a governing party can either make or break a country.

“Lucky is 45 – about my age – a born-and-bred South African like myself. We both grew up in the 70’s and 80’s, and have witnessed, from opposite perspectives, both sides of the proverbial political coin. In fact, he worked for the DA a number of years ago.

“Unfortunately, Lucky has been unemployed for over 2 years. And as we chatted, he took out his asthma pump, apologising as he did so. “It was cold outside last night”, he said. “I suffer with my lungs”.

“And, when prodded, he admitted that throughout yesterday and throughout this morning, until 2pm when I came over, he had only managed to collect R150. Minus the cash he had to use for some food last night. And to get here and back is R100 each way.

“My heart broke. I asked him if I could take his picture, and try to raise the funds for him on social media.

“I explained that, even if just a few thousand people could e-wallet him just R10, it might just raise enough to get his son into a design school.

“And then I asked him to please take the remainder of the R150 he’d “made” and to go home to his wife and kids, and to sleep warm tonight. And to spread the word: That the 2024 elections are crucial. Next year marks 30 years of rapidly-increasing decline and an exponential rise in extreme poverty and joblessness. Something’s got to give, SA. I begged him to help educate the people in his community to vote next year. For change. For a better collective future for us all.

“And I proceeded to tell him that I, myself, have been to Zim. And that I have witnessed first-hand how a greedy corrupt ruling party can completely destroy a country.

“So.

“If you feel called to, and have a spare R10 or so, please eWallet Lucky a donation towards the cause that he was willing to sacrifice his health for, in order to give his son the hope for a brighter future. Something that each and every South African heart is crying for.

“His number is: 0605662636 (See also a BackABuddy link below)

“And please… let’s each do our part to reach out and get to understand each other. It really isn’t difficult… it’s a little matter of getting past the fear and mistrust, that makes all the difference – that, and leaving the past where it belongs, and starting to take hands to make plans for a better tomorrow: Together.

“Plans that actually get Acted upon. Together.

“If you leave a bucket under a dripping tap, eventually, it will overflow.
Love and Light to you all.
May SA have hope yet.”

Hundreds of people have already shared the message, with one saying that it was such a joy to have a message like this when there’s “so much k*k on our timelines” nowadays.

SAPeople called Lucky, and these are his son’s details:

You can also support Lucky’s son through a BackABuddy campaign kindly set up by Jane Griffiths from Jane’s Delicious Garden:

https://www.backabuddy.co.za/immanuel-moyo-5601202135225970847