Man Leaves Guardian,74, in Tears after Surprising Him with 1st Ever Flight: "Father Figure"
- A man warmed the hearts of netizens after surprising his 74-year-old guardian with a flight
- Henry Mutebe said Wilson took care of him after his biological dad passed away as a young boy
- On Sunday, September 12, after a year of saving, Mutebe took the elderly man on a plane ride and this reduced him to tears
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Briefly News on your News Feed!
A man has left his 74-year-old guardian in tears after surprising him with his first-ever flight to Nairobi.
Henry Mutebe narrated that Wilson Dhambangi became his father figure after his biological dad passed away while he was still a young boy.
In the emotional story that he narrated on his social media platforms, Mutembe recounted that when his dad died, her mother was left to single-handedly take care of him and his siblings, a burden that weighed her down.
She would spend a lot of time away from the children working and in 1997, she took the man to a boarding school but the mother would rarely get time to go visit him.
PAY ATTENTION: Never miss breaking news – join Briefly News' Telegram channel!
This is when Wilson, a villager who rode a bike for a living, came into the picture. He would visit Mutebe every single Sunday, and would in the process bring him ground nuts and encourage him to work hard.
"He was old, wore worn-out slippers, had no shoes, and wore the same shirt. All the children at school knew him as my father. Some children would bully me that ‘your father is old and rides a bicycle'," he narrated adding the man, made his mission to make sure he felt loved by him as a young boy.
He recalled that one time, Wilson almost drowned while on his way to visit Mutebe in school but was saved by boys who were fishing.
Debt of gratitude
The three years the elderly man visited Mutembe in school warmed his heart and he vowed that he would one day repay him for his kindness.
In 2020, he started saving for Wilson's first-ever dream flight and on Sunday, September 12, he surprised the 74-year-old.
At first, his surprise was going on well, until the time came for a CPR test and he had to break the news to him that he was about to board a Nairobi-bound plane from Entebbe Airport.
"So, I finally broke the news. Wilson cried. My heart sunk. At his age, he had retired…lives a quiet life, and did not have much hope about anything. So, this came as a surprise. Today (Sunday) at 8 am, in what felt like a movie, we lifted off to Nairobi aboard Uganda airlines,” he narrated.
While onboard, Mutebe and Wilson were surprised by the flight crew who transferred them to the business class. The Ugandan man had written to Uganda airlines days before, telling him about the surprise.
On touching down at Nairobi, Mutebe took his guardian to various places such as The Giraffe Center, Nairobi Animal Orphanage.
He now hopes he will also build him a house.
Source: Briefly News
Maryn Blignaut (Human-Interest HOD) Maryn Blignaut is the Human Interest manager and feature writer. She holds a BA degree in Communication Science, which she obtained from the University of South Africa in 2016. She joined the Briefly - South African News team shortly after graduating and has over six years of experience in the journalism field. Maryn passed the AFP Digital Investigation Techniques course (Google News Initiative), as well as a set of trainings for journalists by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at: maryn.blignaut@briefly.co.za
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.