By Anita Dangazele
Had it not been for an Uber driver’s sharp eye and kind heart, a young Gqeberha woman’s life could have ended on a fateful Saturday in February 2020.
Natasha Mulusa was battling depression and had been on the verge of committing suicide when she requested an Uber ride from Walmer to Gqeberha Central.
And then she met Bartho Dick, the man that would save her life with just one hug.
Four years later, Natasha, who has since relocated to the Netherlands, wrote a Facebook post searching for Bartho.
Recounting the events of that day, Natasha said when she got into the car she pretended to be okay, but when Bartho asked her how she was, she couldn’t stop herself. She just burst into tears.
He told Scrolla.Africa that he had been an Uber driver for just three weeks when he accepted the trip.
“I picked her up in Walmer. She was going to Central. I could see that she was not okay. I asked her if she was fine and she started crying. Something in me said to pull over and hug her,” he said.
“I asked if I could pull over somewhere and she agreed.”
Natasha said with the high levels of gender-based violence and femicide in this country, she was reluctant to say yes.
“In my head, I was praying ‘this man better not take advantage of this situation’, but something in my spirit could feel that he was sent by God,” she said.
She recounted how he told her to get out of the car and there, on the side of the road, he hugged her while she sobbed.
She said she had never shared many details about what was happening in her life but he gave her a word from God.
“I don’t remember his exact words but I remember very well that it helped and healed me so much,” she said.
“He could not have known, but on that day I was ready to commit suicide. I was ready to end it all and just throw in the towel. I was exhausted.”
She thanked Bartho for that life-saving chance encounter.
An emotional Bartho said every time he drives past the spot where he picked Natasha up, he wonders what had become of her.
“I am happy that she is alive and living her best life,” he said with tears streaming down his face.
“This message made me realise I am exactly where God wants me to be, and I am making a difference.”
On Monday, Natasha posted that she had had a video call with the e-hailer.
The post read: “To everyone who shared the post, from the bottom of my heart, thank you! I found him and we video-called, cried and laughed. Glory be to God!”
Pictured above: A screenshot of the video between Natasha Mulusa (bottom) and e-hailing driver Bartho Dick.
Image source: Supplied
