After losing their home in a fire, a Paraguayan family never expected complete strangers to come to their aid.

Enrique, a 10-year-old Paraguayan boy, was living in abject poverty. The boy, his mother, and 6 siblings had to relocate to their city’s garbage dump in a home made out of trash after a devastating incident.

Their stepfather burned their house down, which forced them to move to a shanty town. Their situation seemed hopeless but sometimes, it only takes one person to change your life.

Down in the dumps

According to a few TikTok videos that have now reached over 2 million views, the family rarely had clean water, didn’t have a shower, and often got sick. To earn money for food, Enrique would pick garbage that can be recycled. At only 10 years old, he stepped up and helped build a house out of trash for his mother and siblings to live. 

“My life is a disaster,” Enrique’s mom said.

Little did she expect what would happen next.

Strangers contributed $31,000

Enter Aaron Murphy, a TikTok philanthropist who has been traveling around Latin America raising money for families in desperate need.

Touched by Enrique’s perseverance, Murphy told him he was a superhero like Goku from Dragonball Z.

Murphy then reached out to the Internet for help and strangers from around the world raised $31,000, with 100% of the money going directly to the family.

From dumpster to a new home

With the funds, Murphy purchased a new home for the family and completely renovated it in 24 hours with the help of volunteers and neighbors in the new community. They added a stylish new bedroom for the kids along with new toys and fresh clothes. The kids were also enrolled in school and the mother was given a small restaurant to call her own.

To keep the whole thing a surprise, Murphy invited the family over to where he was staying but showed them their new home instead.

When Murphy handed over the deed to Enrique’s mother, she began to cry.

“God exists, yes he does,” she said with tears in her eyes. @murphslife

All I can say is THANK YOU!

The kindness of strangers

Murphy’s videos of the family are a shocking reminder of how privileged many of us are. How a family like that can be left with so little is absolutely devastating.

But as luck would have it, they found Murphy, and using his skills with TikTok and fundraising he managed to attract enough attention to change their lives.

Now, is sending money to someone you see on social media who says they’re going to give it to people in poverty always a good idea? No. Charities go through registration and review processes for a reason and the good ones are transparent about where their money goes.

But if this money really is all going where Murphy says it is, he’s certainly worth commending for using his privilege to help others.

Never Underestimate Your Impact

One act of kindness can create a chain reaction that can change someone’s life.

—

Original Article: https://www.goalcast.com/man-buys-home-boy-living-in-garbage-dump/