By:Rudolf Iiyambo
The fortunes of 29-year-old former Windhoek taxi driver Nicco Sibolile have only gotten better a month after he returned N$8000 to a customer who had forgotten her bag in his taxi last month.
On Friday, Sibolile collected a N$20000 donation that was a generated from a Go Fund Me account from those who were touched by his act of honesty, selflessness and integrity in this modern world filled with immoralities. This comes after he already received N$9 390 in cash from community members who donated money to him after hearing about his commendable action.
“Even if the whole world turns against you, the one and only thing that will always remain is goodness,” said Sibolile on receiving the donation.
The chief learning officer in the ministry of justice, Vaino Muvale started the Go Fund Me for Sibolile after learning about his act of kindness and honesty.
The Go Fund Me was initially started with the aim to buy Nicco a new taxi, but efforts to do so did not work out, and instead they raised N$20 000.
“I then started a Go Fund Me campaign under my business Eggscription Trading and Eggscription Foundation. I started looking for funds from the public. This is not for me. I also made a contribution to the fund. I have been running the Fund for three weeks and I collected some monies,” Muvale explained.
He said the contributed monies came from his close friends and small business people. “What Nico did is a good example they want to see in the country.Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is looking, despite knowing no one was looking you did the right thing,”he said.
Sibolile told The Villager he did not expect to receive anything after returning the money and he was not aware that people were running a Go Fund Me in his name.
“I am very happy that I am getting something out of it because I did not expect anything. My biggest message goes to the public out there, please do good so you get something, look at what I just got. I did not work for any of this. It is best that I earn the little that I earn in the right way, instead of taking something that does not belong to me. I urge the Namibians to do the same in their own ways.”
Sibolile is yet to decide what to do with the money because he did not expect it.
“I decided to take the money back because it does not belong to me, that is the whole point. I know that the person needed to use that money for other things.”
According to other reports, the N$8000 he returned was meant to buy a coffin for Katrina Aboas’ grandchild. Sibolile said he was given a N$30 when he returned Aboas’ handbag.
“Even though I saw such a large amount of money, I was not tempted to use it as I prefer getting my money the right way,” Sibolile said.
Apart from the money, he also received other donations, which he says he is truly grateful for. He says he is currently employed by Ark Trading company which hired him as a result of his honesty, and is no longer making a living by driving a taxi.
“I did not apply for this job. I was just hired because of what I did.