Unemployed man saved from bridge suicide by perfect stranger

Spencer Kitson‚ 30‚ from Fourways‚ has shown the extent to which one person would go for another in their time of need.

He talked Isaac Dinkebogile down from a bridge when Dinkebogile tried to commit suicide on Sunday evening.

He opened his home by giving him a place to stay and he has‚ with the help of a friend‚ given him temporary employment.

The decision to take his life because he is unemployed is not an isolated incident in South Africa where unemployment stands at 27.7%‚ according to Statistics SA.

Last month‚ Susan van Rooyen‚ 55‚ from Randfontein‚ doused herself in petrol and set herself on fire in public last month. She felt that she had become a financial burden on her family. She hadn’t been employed for 20 years and as a result of ill health doctors declared her unfit to work.

“I had just visited a friend up in Bryanston and I was heading home on Sunday evening when I saw a man leaning on the railing at the edge of the bridge. I immediately identified that something was wrong. I pulled over and just took it from there‚” said Kitson.

Dinkebogile and van Rooyen’s stories show the extent to which people will go to escape their realities. Money keeps the stomach filled and the lights on. Without an income survival is futile.

Kitson said that his main concern that night was to get Dinkebogile away from the bridge so he offered a complete stranger in distress food to eat and a place to stay.

Kitson said that he wanted to assure Dinkebogile that the world was not a bad place and that things didn’t have to end like this.

Recalling the encounter‚ he wrote on Facebook (initially calling the desperate man Isak): “As I approached I could see he was well dressed but drowning in despair‚ ‘hey man‚ are you alright?’‚ there was no reply (sic).”

“I lent over to him and told him that whatever he was going through is really not worth him jumping‚ I finally heard him mumble what I presumed to be his name Isaac‚” said Kitson.

“After arriving home‚ I sat down with Isaac to find out more about him and potentially try to inspire him that it is not worth dying regardless of any circumstances he may be going through.

“Isaac is a genuine guy that's stuck in a bad position‚ he is absolutely desperate for any work so that he can support his daughter.

“From what I gather‚ Isaac does not have a support system. He is in it alone. He lost both his parents and he has been alone ever since.”

Once Kitson posted the story of how he talked a man down from jumping off a bridge‚ support has flooded his inbox.

“I have received over 4‚000 e-mails‚ I haven’t been able to respond to all of them. People are offering everything from work to donations some have offered their services a friend of mine has offered him a place to stay with some schooling for his daughter‚” said Kitson.

Not only has Isaac been struggling for two years to find employment but he hasn’t been seeing his daughter much due to tiff with the mother of his child.

“He said that the mother of his daughter doesn’t communicate with him that often. She restricts him from seeing the baby and that is because he hasn’t been able to financially contribute‚” said Kitson.

Kitson said that he found himself in a similar position not too long ago. He went through a very tough time but unlike Isaac he was able to call on the help of a friend to see him through it.

“Doing something like this has definitely gone through my mind in the past‚ very recently even. I have been an entrepreneur for many years‚ I go through the motions regularly. I have been in the same space that Isaac is in. I didn’t formally finish school. I haven’t let that stop me. I take online courses. I spent four five years educating myself and it has been quite tough‚ my family has had to support me so I relate quite well with Isaac‚” said Kitson.

Choking up‚ Kiston said that he knew how isolating life could be and he wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

“I recently reached out to a friend to speak to. I was going through a tough time. The reason I am an entrepreneur is because I haven’t been able to get a job. I understand the tough economic times pretty well‚” he said.