South Africans are kind souls. Some will bake cupcakes to hand out to strangers, others will drive 40km in the rain to buy coffee for their favourite car guard and one Uber driver will even trek around Durban to return a set of keys to one of his passengers.
These random acts of kindness - and many others like them - have earned South Africa one of the top spots on a global digital platform which encourages good deeds. South Africans are the second-highest number of people involved in Kindness.org, a Boston-based NGO - ahead of Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Ghana, India, Iraq, Italy, the Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and the UK.
In the past six months, South Africans posted 126 random acts of kindness on the site.
Kindness.org field researcher Nathan Samuel, from London, is in the country to test just how kind locals can be.
story_article_left1
"I'm now aware that South Africa is more of a melting pot of people than I imagined. Its history in London is depicted as black and white, but in reality it's so colourful with Africans, Europeans, Asians, Indians all working, living and existing side by side despite their various beliefs and practices - something I feel we struggle with at home.
"And for me, as I walked down the streets of Durban, and into the valleys, I felt at ease and welcomed as an individual. That stuck out.
"Then when I talked to your community I felt an openness that was unexpected. Utterly beautiful," he said.
Kindness.org founder Jaclyn Lindsey told the Sunday Times that when Samuel launched his journey around Africa, the organisation's South African members had jumped at the chance of meeting him and many had even offered him accommodation and transport.
Lindsey said South Africa's good deeds are prominent on the digital platform.
Mumtaaz Buckus Isaac of Johannesburg is one of them. She baked cupcakes and handed them out to people in traffic and shopping malls.
"Some were suspicious about why it was free, some ignored [me]. But others loved it, saying thank you. It was a great experience," she said.
Lucinda Harman drove 40km in the rain to buy a cup of coffee for a car guard, but her random act of kindness wasn't met with gratitude.
"The down side of my coffee pay-forward was that the man then wanted food and money and more, instead of thank you."
But research by Kindness.org, in collaboration with Oxford University, shows that most kind acts have a "positive effect on wellbeing and positive social emotions".
Almost 700 participants from 39 countries, including South Africa, reported feeling happy after taking up the 7 Days of Intentional Kindness challenge, which included buying a lottery ticket for a stranger, donating useful items, sharing time with a lonely neighbour and picking up litter.
Tarryn Horton, project manager at ARK, the South African app to help locals become kinder, said kindness was no longer a natural response for many.
full_story_image_hright1
"Today's lifestyle is very challenging and there is a lot of negativity out there," she said.
But not everyone needs a reminder to be considerate.
Uber driver Wilson Xulu didn't have to think twice about going out of his way to track down a client who had dropped a set of keys in his car.
"I finally found him in Durban North. And I was happy to give his family the keys. I love people. I am kind because that's just the way my heart is," he said.
Sonia Vosloo said she had been surprised when Xulu showed up with their keys.
"He didn't want anything in return. He had gone out of his way for us. Not many people would have done that," she said.