Manuel Ribeiro is homeless. On Wednesday, he was at Praça da República, in Viana do Castelo, begging, when a passerby dropped a large amount of money, continuing on his way without realizing it. Without hesitation, the 43-year-old beggar picked up the notes and returned them to the owner, who thanked him for the gesture by offering him 20 euros.
“I think like this: it’s not mine, I have to hand it over”, says Manuel Ribeiro to O MINHO, who fell in the street six months ago “for personal reasons” and is trying to get out of.
Until he achieves this, he will spend the night in the Viana do Castelo City Council containers that exist to support the homeless.
Yesterday, when “I was in Praça da República asking” “a gentleman” passed by who “was going to run” and “dropped a large amount of money”.
“I picked it up and gave it to him”, says the homeless man, stating that he did not know what the total cost was, but that it would be high.
“It was a bunch of notes and a few more separate ones, which were windy and I picked them up. And I gave them to you,” she recalls.
The man “was happy” with the action and thanked him. “He gave me 20 euros and said ‘thank you very much’”, he recalls.
Mário Ribeiro’s gesture was highly praised by those who witnessed it, because, despite going through serious difficulties, he maintained the value of honesty above all else, returning the money to its owner.
