- Paul Gathuma cried through an entire flight as he travelled from Diani to Nairobi to bury his mother
- The grieving man thought he was alone until five strangers on the plane noticed his pain and came over to offer comfort
- Upon landing, one gave him water, another offered to book a cab for him, while the other asked the strangers to join hands and pray for him
A journey from Diani to Nairobi became an unforgettable lesson in human kindness for Paul Gathuma who was headed home for a sombre event.
Source: Facebook
In an emotional account shared online, Paul says five strangers comforted him after he broke down in tears on a flight to bid farewell to his late mother.
Paul told NGBREAKINGNEWS that he boarded a Jambojet flight at 1.25pm on Sunday, May 17, shortly after learning that his mother had passed away.
At first, he thought he was strong enough despite knowing she was gone and he would never see her alive again.
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Seated by the window on seat 21A, Paul watched as the aircraft took off, banking over the Indian Ocean and offering passengers sweeping views of the sparkling beaches and hotels of Diani.
For a few moments, the scenery distracted him, but once the breathtaking view disappeared into a blanket of white, grief began to consume him.
He thought about the final conversation he had shared with his mother just hours earlier.
He remembered a song he had hoped to dedicate to her someday. Sitting beside sleeping passengers and surrounded by strangers, he suddenly felt painfully alone.
“I started to feel the emptiness. I started to feel the void,” he wrote. “The pressure became too much and I just had to cry.”
Paul said he tried desperately to hide his tears, weighed down by the common belief that African men should remain stoic even in moments of deep pain.
Yet the grief became overwhelming. He cried quietly throughout the flight as the aircraft continued towards Nairobi.
When the plane finally began its descent into Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, the sight of the landing wheels touching the runway triggered another wave of emotion.
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As passengers disembarked, most walked past unaware of the emotional battle unfolding in his seat. But a handful of strangers stayed behind.
Three passengers approached him gently and asked what was wrong. Through tears, Paul explained that he had just lost his mother.
One woman offered him water. Another asked whether he was travelling alone. They chose not to leave him by himself.
The strangers walked with him through the airport terminal and remained by his side while waiting for baggage collection.
Then, in another touching moment, a couple nearby noticed the distressed group and joined them. The woman asked if they could pray together.
Standing inside the busy airport lounge, the strangers joined hands and prayed for a grieving man they had never met before.
“At that point, I started feeling much better,” Paul said, adding that another person even offered to help him book an Uber home.
Now recovering from one of the hardest moments of his life, Paul says he remains deeply touched by the compassion shown by complete strangers during his darkest hour.
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“I learnt that angels exist among us,” he wrote. “You are my angels. If you ever visit Diani, I will gladly treat you to fresh madafu by the coast.
His moving story has resonated with many Kenyans online who praised the strangers for reminding the country that kindness and empathy still exist, even among people who may never meet again.
Source: NGBREAKINGNEWS
