A Balinese donut vendor was left in tears after an American influencer surprised her with a house and US$10,000.
Isaiah Garza, a fashion designer and influencer from the US, is receiving widespread praise in Indonesia after he posted a TikTok video last week about his extremely generous act of charity.
The video detailed that he met Ni Luh Sri Wulandari a few months ago. At the time, Garza pretended he was broke and asked Ni Luh for a donut. Ni Luh, who was selling donuts to pay for her parents’ funeral and care for her sick grandpa, offered to give him three donuts for free, but Garza insisted on paying her. He gave her US$500, but Ni Luh initially refused, saying that people should help each other.
Garza was so impressed by Ni Luh’s kindness that he decided to give her a Christmas gift. After raising funds for Ni Luh, he bought her a house and also gave her US$10,000 to help her get settled in.
When Ni Luh saw the house, she was overwhelmed with emotion. She started to cry and thanked Garza profusely. She said that she had always dreamed of owning a house, and that Garza had made her dream come true.
“I am so grateful,” Wulandari said. “Isaiah is a true angel.”
@isaiahgarza I surprised a struggling street vendor with a brand new house & $10,000 #kindness #wholesome #streetvendors #christmas ♬ original sound – Isaiah Garza
Garza’s act of kindness has received widespread media coverage and praise in Indonesia over the past couple of days.
“Why am I crying?” one user commented on Garza’s video.
“Isaiah you are a light thank you for doing this for people,” another said.
Some couldn’t help but be slightly cynical.
“Isn’t the local government ashamed of seeing this?” one user quipped.
“It looks like after this bule gave away the money he’s going to get much more in return,” another said, implying that influencers like Garza may exploit poverty for views and clout.
Whatever his true intentions are, Garza, who has 8.7 million followers on TikTok, has repeatedly used his platform to raise funds and help the less fortunate around the world. Before we say savior complex, it’s perhaps worth considering how the people Garza has helped feel about him when everybody else had turned a blind eye to their plight.
