I am glad to have such a nice topic to talk about, and I would like to thank you for the opportunity.

In our life, we often face challenges and obstacles that are tough to overcome all by ourselves. A little help from others can save the day, and no matter how much we criticise the human race for being self-centred, we can't deny the selfless acts that we are often offered by others, even sometimes by complete strangers. Thus a few months ago someone named Khalif Ashraf did something truly kind for which I will always remember this benevolent soul.

I was in Penang island in Malaysia last year on holiday with my wife and my four years old daughter. As soon as we arrived on the island from the Muscat International Airport, we realised that the island was getting ready for the Chinese New Year. Due to this, it was packed with tourists. We hired a taxi, and the driver was a local resident who introduced himself as Khalif Ashraf. He was in his mid-thirties. We realised his friendly attitude as soon as we got in his car. It was already 10.00 pm and my daughter and wife were very tired. I had a list of a few hotels to stay in and told the driver to take us to these hotels. Unfortunately, none of the hotels had any room they could offer us. Things were getting disordered and we were hoping to get a room by any mean.

Mr Ashraf, our taxi driver, understood our dilemma and offered to take us to a few hotels he knew personally. Initially, I was confused as my previous experience taught me that taxi drivers often get commissions by bringing guests to below-standard hotels which charge a hefty amount. However, I agreed to his proposition and he did a remarkable job by finding a nice hotel for us at a comparatively cheaper price. I was taken aback when he told the hotel manager to give us a 20% discount for which he used one of his identification cards. It was completely unexpected and so kind an act that I will never forget it.

I felt more perplexed when he denied taking the taxi rent for the extra distance he drove us to this hotel. It was a great example of kindness and empathy. He even called me the next day and met us with a few gifts for my daughter. This event was an acute reminder for me to trust humanity all the time.

Model Answer 2:

Getting stranded in the middle of a night out of nowhere is certainly not a good feeling when you are alone. But, that’s exactly what happened to me about a couple of years ago when I was coming back to my home on a late evening after finishing some important works at my company factory. On that day, when I decided to hit the road after finishing my work, it was already 10:00 pm.

I felt tired after finishing my work. So, I decided to take a little rest on the roadside in my old car which, as I think of it now, wasn’t exactly a very good idea as I fell asleep. Not sure, how long I had slept, but when I woke up, it was about 12:20 pm and I needed to drive at least another hour or so to reach my home. However, after driving probably about 20 minutes, the car started to act on me and then eventually coming to a complete stop.

I tried to fix it without any success. Then I called my car “towing” company, but what they told me wasn’t very encouraging as it would have taken them at least 50 minutes to reach me. So, anyway, I just decided to wait inside my car while asking for a ride occasionally, but nobody was in a mood to help me out! Then, suddenly, came my ‘saviour” just when I was getting ready to spend the rest of the night inside my “dead” car.  

Introducing himself as Mr Raymond, he was kind enough to ask me whether I needed him to help fix my car or give me a ride. I requested him to rather give me a ride after explaining to him about my dead car engine. He gladly obliged. Not knowing where he was from, or what kind of person he was (I guess, it was the fear of “unknown”), I decided to accept his help. Anyway, as if he could read what was going in my mind, he decided to ease my tension by providing me with a bit more details about him and his family. When we arrived at my home, it was about 1:00 at night.

I didn’t really know much about Mr Raymond as we didn’t talk much during our little “journey”. But whatever I knew about him after that little chit chat, it was enough for me to conclude that he was ready to help a person in distress any time of the day or night. I felt like I just couldn’t thank him enough for helping me on a night when nobody was willing to do so. In fact, I thought, it was because of people like Raymond this world was still a safer place for us to live. In the end, when he was ready to hit the road, I requested him to let me know if he ever needed any help not because what he did for me, but because without some “kind” people like Raymond among us, the entire “human race” probably would have been “lost” in its complicated journey.