The Empathic COMBO

On the Run, Gamaet El Dowal, with Saeed Darwish, the cashier person:

Saeed: "Do you want a sandwich or combo?"
Me: Sandwich.
Saeed: The combo is only 1EGP extra, and you get a coke and chips. 
Me (thinking):Hmmmm ....
 Saeed: All that thinking for only 1EGP?
 Me: No all that thinking to consider whether or not I want to eat those.
 Saeed: You don't have to. You can give them to someone poor.Me (super-impressed): OK. 'll have a combo then.

Even though I ended up eating the whole Combo, yet Saeed's words touched me to a great extent. And so, I posted that conversation over Facebook, and in no time, people were liking and sharing it, believing the idea was quite good. A couple of hours later, I promised to go back and find that guy if the likes reached a hundred: and they did the next day.

I went back the same day and found him, tried to remind him of the incident but he seemed quite conservative "after-all, it is not a normal client-to-cashier conversation, is it?". Surprisingly, he remembered everything but the last sentence; he had actually forgotten he said that!!

Again, I reminded him then told him about the Facebook story, which he found quite amazing and asked to check it out himself. I handed him my laptop to see the post, the likes and comments, and watched that spark in his eyes as his colleagues and customers started admiring what he did. That moment was just priceless!!

He then turned to me and asked me to deliver that message to all of you on his behalf:

"If those hundred people actually implemented that idea: added a little to something that may not matter to them, turning it to something that can matter a lot to others, then we can all make a difference. There is always something we can do, and the poor are everywhere".

At the end of our conversation, after finding out that Saeed is also involved in Community development, and after his colleagues referred to him as someone who has quite interesting opinions about different matters, we decided to meet once more and figure out how my Organization "Educate-Me" and the Association he works in collaborate with each other.

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”- Leo Buscaglia