On Sunday when I was going to the local corner shop from Geoff’s.
A Romanian girl, called Anna, stopped me and asked me if I could help her.
She was a student starting her studies in September, going to Kings College ( I think )
Basically she had travelled to Cambridge from Ely to try and secure herself a place at the YMCA.
The guy, she did give me his name but I cannot remember it now, had taken £200 off her to secure her a room with 6 other girls.
This left her with no money and she needed to get back to Ely to collect her belongings.
So I took her to the train station and got her a return ticket rather than just give her money.
On the way she told me all about her family and how poor Romania is compared to England.
She told me how little they earn but also how cheap thing were in Romania compared to England.
Now a lot of you think this was a sham and that I was conned .
If I really wanted too I could look her up at the YMCA but I don’t feel the need too.
The ticket only cost me £3.50 and I would like to think if my boys ever needed help someone would be kind enough to help them.
Also it gave me a lot of pleasure to help this girl out and the feel good factor was worth far more than £3.50.
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Good for you – and like many above I would have done the same. I was in my local cornershop recently when a young Italian boy approached me to ask if I could recommend a cream for bruises. He took off his sunglasses to reveal that he had been randomly punched in the eye by a man outside Sauce in Station Road. I took him straight to casulty where they patched him up. I, like you, thought that if this was a child of mine I would hope that there would be someone around to help them out.
BTW thanks for your comments re the robin card!
When we stayed in Norfolk we kept seeing enormous fat robins. So now, if we see a really puffed up one, we call it a ‘Norfolk Robin’. LOL!
9 times out of 10 I help. The other one time it’s been so obviously a lie I can barely keep a straight face.
I think as she came along with you to the station and didn’t just say ‘oh forget it’ then it was probably genuine. As others here have said, why bother lying for £3.50?!
It’s lovely to know there are some people about with generous hearts.
Not like whoever stole my bag the other week, and made off with with my shopping, inc. the birthday presents I’d just bought for my nephew! Grrr…
That was a great thing to do. As you say, you hope someone would do it for your children too. Maybe it was a con but would anyone bother for that amount?! Like Anne I prefer to buy a sandwich or a drink rather than give money.
I think it was a lovely thing to do 🙂
Hi Sally, that was a truly selfless act. It always feels better to give than to receive. Well done.
I think I would have done the same. I also think you handled the whole thing nicely.
Some lad asked me to go to the garage for him yesterday. I said ‘No’, and walked off laughing. Hahaha! Actually it was a teenager wanting me to go and buy some cigarettes for him, lol. Hence the ‘No’.
I too would have done as you Sally. I think you handled it perfectly. Yes there are questions but it is not a great loss as you said and worth the risk in my opinion.
ok , as iam not totally stupid there was a few things that puzzled me… the main one being why did she need a return ticket if she had more money back with her things in Ely….
I certainly didnt think there was any need to worry about her… she seemed very confident and not afraid about being here in england and the ymca do help people with short term accomodation.
BTW she wanted my mobile number so she could return money too but i insisted that she did not have to do that and it was a gift to help her out.
This was very nice of you and I would do the same, it was after all £3.50 not £350.
Some questions do remain for me though.
If she was going to college had she a grant to support her and why did she not have any allowance already in place or was the £200 the first installment all gone.
If she was trying to secure a place at the YMCA, was that temporay and why if this was her accomodation did she have to pay £200 for her room and where was this room?
If she had no money could she afford to eat that night and was she going to be supported with some means by dhss, I don’t have a problem with the later but how was she going to mange after the train fare?
Was she on her own or was someone with her?
You probably did not enquire with the depth of these questions.
It was after all just a few quid. It was best that you paid for her ticket, I could not have walked away without doing so.
Not all her story adds up for me but hey, you did want you felt was on your conscience and I commend you for it.
I do hope she is ok and not about to enter the deadly world of sexual trafficking. Six girls to a room with a man asking for rent. My alarm bells are ringing. It may be ok but so many women come over hoping to study or work and get easily caught up in this.
Eastern European women are prime victims.
My thoughts are with her tonight.
Well done Sally, I think I would of done the same, the fact that you took her to the station and bought the ticket is different, than handing money over.
I helped a young man once, when I was on a bus, he got on, and found he didn;t have enough money for the fare to Oxford, so I gave him what he needed.
Call me cynical, but there are a lot of people asking for help, and judgement needs to be made. I am very wary. If someone asks me for money for a cup of tea etc, then I will go and get them a takeaway tea, not give them money.
Right or Wrong, but that is my way of doing things.
Well done! I would have done it too and in fact have even put folks up for the night 🙂
You are right the feel good factor is excellent – I once paid for the ladies groceries in front of me in the co-op – after she discovered she had forgotten her purse. The look of amazement and delight on her face is still with me.