Emmanuel Chika Eunice

Nigeria

Three Pints of Kindness

“Ma’am, we need at least three pints of blood to be able to operate on your son,” the doctor told Ahneeka.

“Is my son’s blood group not available in the hospital’s blood bank?” Ahneeka questioned, not willing to accept defeat.

“No ma’am. Not even in neighboring hospitals.”

Ahneeka weakly sat down on the hospital floor, dejected. Is she going to lose her son now?

A shadow loomed over her, so she quickly raised her head in anticipation that it was the doctor with some positive news.

She was a bit disappointed when she saw a total stranger.

“I no speak good English, but I hear what the Doctor say. I can donate to your son.” The stranger said.

Tears gathered in Ahneeka’s eyes as they both ran to get the doctor. The blood was scanned, and it was discovered to be clean, so her son was operated on.

As Ahneeka stared at her son, Jamal playing outside, tears sprang up in her eyes again. A total stranger despite language and racial barriers bridged intercultural gaps by donating what Ahneeka always refers to as ‘three pints of kindness’ and giving Jamal another shot at life.