A homeless man who ended up finding a dropped wallet and giving it back to its owner ended up spending his reward money buying food for other people who are homeless.
Waqas Shah conducted a social experiment around New York’s Union Square where a number of homeless people often reside.
Shah is seen on camera deliberately dropping his wallet containing $2,000 in cash right in front of a homeless man.
A social experiment sees Waqas Shah dropping his wallet with $2,000 cash inside
The homeless man calls after its owner and rushes to give it back to him
Cameras record the man, called Jay, giving Shah back his wallet
The pair hug after Jay’s act of honestly with the pair sharing a hug before Shah rewards him
Seconds later, the man called Jay, yells after Shah telling him he dropped something.
‘Woah, buddy!’ he calls. ‘You dropped your wallet!’ he says. ‘You dropped it right over there,’ pointing to a spot on the sidewalk.
‘Are you homeless?’ asks Shah, to which the man nods.
‘You gave the money back to me!’ he says with an element of surprise.
‘Giving back is what you do. I don’t steal,’ says the homeless man.
‘Just because you gave it back to me I’ll give you a gift,’ Shah says handing the man a reward for his efforts and having done the right thing.
‘You’re a great person. Thank you for giving it back to me,’ Shah says.
After being rewarded for his efforts Jay is secretly filmed buying food for others
He ends up handing out food parcels to other homeless people in the area
Cameras then continue to secretly film the man to see what he does next.
His acts surprise everyone including Shah, as Jay is seen to head to a nearby food cart to buy three meals, which he then distributes to other homeless people in the area.
In the heartwarming gesture he is seen to be feeding others before himself.
Shah tracks the man down for a final time to quiz him on his incredible acts of generosity to which Jay responds with simple logic: ‘Giving back is the thing to do. The more you give the more you get,’ he says.
Shah catches up with him again and Jay shares wisdom that he was always taught to give back
At hearing his heartbreaking story, he is given yet more money for his kindness
The pair share another warm embrace after Jay’s unselfish acts of kindness and generosity
‘I have a wife that’s pregnant. Every day I cry and pray that everything will turn out fine,’ he says breaking down in tears.
‘Being out on the streets its very very hard.’
‘I love that you’re spreading love,’ Shah tells him. ‘Just because you’re an amazing. I will give you something in return
Shah ended up giving him another load of cash to thank him for his acts of charity for others in the face of such adversity.
Since the video was published earlier this years