A Random Act of Kindness

Driss with his gifts

Driss's Gifts

A few months ago, I wrote a blog entry about the café owner, Driss, in Toon Town. A grandfather figure during my service, I’ve had many memorable times with him, sipping sweet mint tea and watching the people of Toon Town stroll by the café door.

He is one of the truly ‘good ones’ who has a kind heart and always welcomes me and my friends as his own family. While he only makes a small (tiny) income from his café business, he always has gifts of eggs, milk, yogurt and sometimes, even kefta (mincemeat) and he never accepts payment for tea or soda which he insists you drink until you can’t take the sugar anymore.

‘Driss’s Café’ was and is my most popular blog entry to date. I received many kind words from friends and family who read the entry and also from strangers who just happened to stumble across that entry. One reader was particularly touched by the story of Driss’s Café and contacted me via e-mail after reading the entry. This is the message she sent:

Hi Annemarie,

I recently found your blog on the Peace Corps Journals website.  I enjoyed reading your posts ... especially your recent post re: your friend Driss and his cafe.  Driss sounds like a really kind and thoughtful person.  I would like to send him a small gift as a "random act of kindness".  Could I send it to you, to give to him at your convenience?  It will fit in a small/flat envelope.  If so, can you send me your mailing address?  I appreciate it ... thanks!  

Thanks also for all of the great work you're doing in Morocco.  I'm sure you've helped a lot of people!

-       Shoshana

It was such a pleasant surprise to receive her e-mail also nice to know that my blog is being read and enjoyed by not only close family and friends, but by strangers too.

Shoshana’s package arrived a few weeks later and my friend Sara and I delivered it to him one evening. It was slightly difficult to explain to Driss, where the package had come from. A blog is a foreign concept to most people in my village. I told him that I write stories about my life in Toon Town and post the stories on the internet. I explained that one of the stories was about how kind and nice Driss is and that someone I didn’t know liked the story and also thought that he was a nice person and wanted to give him a gift to say thank you for being a good person. He chuckled to let me know he understood and told me to tell her, “SaHa bzzaf awd lly ar hem l’walidiness” which means, “thank you very much and may God bless her parents.”

The package contained postcards from the National Gallery in Washington D.C. with paintings by Picasso, Monet and other artists on them. There were also several napkin type papers with “Driss’s Café” printed on them along with a hand written card thanking Driss for being a kind person.

It was such a kind thing to do for a stranger and both Driss and I really appreciated it. I wanted to thank Shoshana publicly by writing a blog entry about her ‘random act of kindness’ which I hope will inspire more people to create their own ‘random acts of kindness’…making the world a better place, as we say in Morocco, ‘shwiya b shwiya’ (little by little), one person at a time.

Much love,

Miriam xXx

Driss with Dan & Kristen who recently came back to Toon Town for a visit 

Driss & Sara who also recently came for a visit