Christmas Miracle: Anonymous angel pays R132k to free 260 South African families’ lay-bys
Items included school supplies and baby clothing, highlighting how this lay-by kindness directly met people’s fundamental needs.
The true spirit of the festive season has arrived in the Eastern Cape, following an extraordinary and deeply moving act of kindness by an anonymous donor in Aberdeen.
This Good Samaritan walked into a local PEP store this week and, without asking for recognition, settled every single unpaid lay-by, instantly bringing cheer to hundreds of families.
The generous gesture totalled R132 500 and successfully cleared 260 outstanding lay-bys, allowing families to collect essential goods they had been saving up for. Crucially, the items included much-needed school supplies and baby clothing, highlighting how this kindness directly met people’s fundamental needs.
PEP chief marketing executive, Beyers van der Merwe, confirmed the retailer was “completely surprised” by the scale of the donation.
“This act of kindness gave 260 families the relief and dignity of taking home essentials such as school items and baby clothing – many just in time for the festive season,” Van der Merwe was reported as saying.
Lay-by buddy movement
This spontaneous act of compassion is an extension of a greater national movement. The impetus for paying off lay-bys began in late 2019 after news of a man settling all outstanding accounts at a PEP store in Mossel Bay became public.
Following this outpouring of generosity, the initiative formally blossomed into the PEP Lay-by Buddy Initiative in June 2020.
Since its inception, the Lay-by Buddy Initiative has grown into a powerful vehicle for community support, raising more than R3.6 million and assisting over 150 000 families nationwide. The initiative received a significant boost this year with a R1 million donation from Pepkor to expand its reach.