Classmates Mock Poor Girl Working as Janitor to Help Sick Mom, Kick Themselves in Envy a Week Later — Story of the Day

A young girl's classmates make fun of her after finding out she worked as a janitor, only to regret their actions a week later when the young girl was rewarded because of it.

Jenny lived with her single mother who worked as a janitor. She never met her dad, and it's only been Jenny and her mom ever since.

One day, when Jenny was six years old, her mom came home and told her that her arthritis was getting worse. "It's been getting harder for me to clean the streets the entire day, sweetheart," her mom, Annika, admitted.

"Do you need to go to the doctor, mom?" Jenny asked. Annika shook her head and simply revealed that she could not work as much as she used to.

"I will be earning less, so I will not be able to buy you new things anymore. We will need to save money," Annika explained.

Jenny realized that her mother needed her help. She thought about going to work with her mom so they could sweep the same number of streets as before, or even more, with her help.

The young girl also concluded that if she cleaned up more streets, her mom would make more money and have enough to pay for her maintenance medicine. She pitched her idea, but her mom disagreed.

"You're not supposed to be working, Jenny. You're supposed to be working hard at school," Annika told her daughter. So Jenny did not insist on her idea and instead continued with school.

After a couple of days, however, her mom realized that she could not cope on her own and allowed Jenny to help her after school every day.

Without hesitation, Jenny helped her mom sweep the streets. She was always used to doing household chores, so cleaning the streets was nothing new.

To pass the time, Jenny would sing the songs of her favorite singer while she swept. Time passed quickly every time she sang them, and before she knew it, she and her mom were headed home.

Jenny loved the singer so much that she had her photos and posters hanging on the walls of her room. She was inspired by the singer's story, where she started with humble beginnings before making it big. Like the singer, Jenny believed she would reach her dreams one day.

One afternoon, Jenny's classmate saw her sweeping the street. She took a video and shared it with her friends. The next day, a group of young girls flocked the streets to make fun of Jenny.

"Your mother is a janitor, and you are a janitor too!" one girl cried out, pointing at her.

"Why do you even study, Jenny? You don't have to be smart to sweep the streets," another girl mocked.

Jenny could hear their insults, but she paid them no attention. Instead, she continued to hum her favorite song while sweeping.

Irritated that Jenny wasn't paying attention to them, the group of girls took photos and videos of Jenny and posted them on social media. "Our classmate is a street sweeper!" they wrote in the caption of their post.

While the girls expected others to laugh at Jenny with them, they were surprised to see that the post went viral. Thousands of people shared Jenny's story, writing words of support and raising money to help her.

A week since the post went viral, good samaritans reached out, wanting to help Jenny and her mother. An anonymous donor gave her mother a year's worth of treatment and maintenance medicine for her arthritis, and in no time, they had a bank account filled with donations for their daily expenses.

Annika had always taught her daughter the value of hard work, so while she continued to recover, thanks to the donations they received, Jenny still helped her sweep the streets until she could finally do it on her own again.

However, Jenny's classmates did not stop teasing her and would follow her to the streets every day. One day, as they were throwing insults at Jenny, a black SUV with tinted windows stopped near them. A beautiful woman stepped out of the car, and without a second look, Jenny squealed as she saw her favorite singer.

"It's you! It's really you!" Jenny said, jumping for joy.

"Hello, sweetheart. I wanted to pay you a visit in person, and I was happy to see my schedule freed up today, so I made my way here," the kind woman said.

"You are my hero! I love you so much!" Jenny said in tears.

"No, Jenny. You are my hero. When I saw those videos of you sweeping while singing my songs, I couldn't help but let you know that you are an inspiration to many and that we are rooting for you and your mom to succeed in life," the singer told Jenny, embracing her as she spoke.

"When you have time, I'm giving you backstage access to my concert. Here is my phone number. Call me whenever you and your mom want to come to one of my shows," the artist said.

Jenny's classmates were shocked. They, too, idolized the singer, yet she paid no attention to them. The celebrity's eyes were fixed on only Jenny, making them green with envy.

Apart from showing up to meet Jenny in person, the celebrity also paid for Annika's treatment and maintenance medicine in full. So all of the monetary donations that Annika and Jenny received online could be used for other things.

Annika decided to use the money to finish paying for the apartment they lived in. Once that was settled and the title was under their name, Annika quit her job as a street sweeper and put up her own small business – a neighborhood confectionery that all the kids and adults alike loved to visit.

What can we learn from this story?

• Don't judge people without understanding their struggles. The kids were quick to judge Jenny for how she lived without realizing the reason behind her struggles. They were taught a lesson when people sympathized with Jenny rather than laughed at her.
• A child's love is both innocent and pure. Jenny didn't hesitate to help her mother, even though she was under no obligation to do so. Her love for her mom was so innocent and pure that she wanted to do anything to help.

Share this story with your loved ones. It might inspire them and make their day.

If you liked this story, you might like this one about a bus driver who discovers that a poor boy, who his classmates would constantly mock, did not leave the bus at the last stop one day to do something unexpected.

This account is inspired by our reader's story and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.