Uber drivers are surprised by “race for good”

"Hello Mr. driver. We appreciate your effort in working during the pandemic and ensuring that everyone arrives to their safely.” This is the beginning of the letter delivered to the Uber driver José Carlos Kincheski, 35, accompanied by a copy of the book A Maior Esperança and a packet of popcorn.

For Kincheski, July 22 seemed to be just another day in his routine, except for the COVID-19 and the pain of mourning he was suffering from the loss of his mother, who died in March from the virus. His cell phone screen showed the neighborhood where a passenger waited for transportation.

It was a normal call, but when he arrived at the place where he was supposed to pick up the passenger, the driver was surprised by an unusual attitude. Payment for the drive was made normally, but the route was canceled. Instead of getting in the car, the girl who requested the ride gave him a gift and asked to pray with him.

Message that transforms

Now, as he makes his routes, he treasures the book and the message. “I was thrilled because today, with the pandemic, in the midst of so much bad, I found it a very beautiful gesture, very affectionate. Their attitude made me think of my mother,” recalls the driver.

The initiative came from a group of volunteers from the Missão Calebe project , which in the south of Paraná, Brazil, alone has more than 1,200 members. The “race for good” was conceived by Marli Afonso, one of the members of the Adventist church team in the Capão da Imbuia neighborhood, in Curitiba. “I am experiencing the challenges of being an Uber driver in this very difficult period that we are going through. The purpose of this action is to do good for someone we don't know, in a simple yet significant way, ”she explains.

Another participant in the initiative was Paola Gomes, who arrived in Brazil from Venezuela in January this year. At the time, she was received by the same group and benefited by the same project of which she is now taking part in. For her, when you receive something good, you need to pass it on. “We did this to make people feel good and we wanted to motivate them to let them know that their work is important,” she said.

This article was originally published on the South American Division’s Portuguese news site