A Karoo Christmas Unlike Any Other: How One Secret Donor Rewrote Aberdeen’s December Story

A kind stranger secretly paid off 260 lay-bys at a PEP store in Aberdeen, South Africa, just before Christmas. This amazing act freed families to collect their much-needed items, from school clothes to baby blankets, bringing immense joy and relief to the small, struggling town. The secret donor’s generosity, totaling R132,500, turned a difficult December into a festive celebration for many, sparking a wave of happiness and inspiring local businesses.

What is the PEP Lay-by Buddy fund?

The PEP Lay-by Buddy fund is a charitable initiative that allows individuals to donate money to pay off outstanding lay-by balances for customers in need. It began in 2019 with a single act of kindness and was formalized by PEP in June 2020, enabling micro-kindness to scale nationally and prevent lay-bys from being forfeited.

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1. The Day the Town’s Luck Turned

Aberdeen, Eastern Cape, is the dot on the map people notice only when the weather map turns red. On 15 December, the chatter was not about heat or sheep prices but about a stranger in faded khaki shorts who walked into PEP Store 417 at 09:07. He nodded at the cashiers, counted the queue of mums clutching green slips, and asked – in perfect Afrikaans – how many Christmas parcels were stuck because the last instalment could not be found. Store manager Nontobeko Mabeqa braced for a prank call; instead, she watched six card receipts roll out for a grand total of R132 500, erasing 260 lay-bys in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee.

Receipts ranged from R190 baby leggings to a R2 800 triple-uniform bundle. The man accepted a warm glass of Oros, declined every selfie, and left with the words: “Tell them the tab is closed; enjoy the season.” By 11:00, Voortrekker Road looked like a music-festival line: gogos in doeks, taxi-loads of teens, fathers balancing toddlers. One Grade-8 learner asked if her black-patent graduation shoes were still hers to collect; she had never owned footwear that nobody had worn before.

Word ripped through WhatsApp voice-notes faster than the desert wind that skims the Camdeboo escarpment. Mothers arrived waving slips like winning tickets; some hopped, some wept, some simply stared at the noticeboard where their initials were finally crossed out. A town accustomed to drought bulletins and stock-theft alerts discovered a new soundtrack: the crackle of receipts and the hiss of a coffee machine that suddenly felt redundant.

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2. Why R510 Matters More in Aberdeen

Statistics South Africa lists the settlement at 1 639 souls, 42 % unemployed and 34 % of households unsure where the next meal will appear. Only four in ten learners finish matric on time; the biggest formal pay-cheque comes from a seasonal sheep abattoir whose wages hover just above the legal minimum. In that climate, R510 – the average lay-by balance – decides whether December is survived or celebrated. The 260 rescued parcels therefore freed roughly 1 300 residents, or 8 % of the population, from the shame of forfeit.

PEP’s national dashboard in Parow Industria blinked red with disbelief: never in the chain’s 59-year history had a single outlet recorded R132 500 cleared in one go. CMO Beyers van der Merwe convened an emergency Zoom and declared the rural record shattered. The Buddy mechanism – born when a Mossel Bay builder paid off R19 800 of strangers’ debt in 2019 – now stood at R3.73 million lifetime, proof that micro-kindness can scale faster than bad news.

Corporate head office announced an extra R1 million seed for rural lay-bys before the story even cooled. Aberdeen qualified because its six-month default rate is 38 %, twice the national average. The injection is marketing-fund-exempt; banners screaming “We save Christmas” are banned, a deliberate move to keep dignity intact and voyeurism at bay.

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3. Anatomy of a Movement: From One Good Man to National Habit

The Mossel Bay spark
On 12 December 2019, contractor André van Zyl overheard a mother tell her child they could not spare the final R80 for a school shirt. He paid every pending balance in the store that afternoon. Weekend papers picked it up; by January 2020 copy-cat gestures flared in four provinces. Covid lockdowns then froze incomes, and need detonated. PEP formalised the Buddy fund in June 2020, adding a USSD string that lets anyone donate as little as R5. By end-2023 the tally had helped 150 000 families; Aberdeen’s bumper day shoved the counter past R3.73 million and still climbing.

Inside the lay-by cage
South Africa’s interest-free lay-by is protected by the Consumer Protection Act: choose goods, pay 10 % upfront, settle within six months, and you can cancel anytime with full refund. The psychological cliff is the final instalment; last-minute taxi fares or stationery trump shoes, so items are pulled and deposits lost. Buddy money bridges that gap, converting “cancelled” to “paid” with one electronic sigh.

What walked out of Store 417
– 38 % schoolwear
– 24 % baby clothes and blankets
– 18 % adult work-clothes
– 11 % household linen
– 9 % entry-level tech
The baby goods matter: with antenatal HIV in the district at 31 %, new-born warmth is medical defence, not sentiment. A single R599 two-plate stove hints at someone’s plan to start a kotjie business in the new year.

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4. The After-Shocks of Generosity

Local traders ride the wave
Charl Naude, owner of the Spar opposite PEP, logged a 22 % December sales jump versus 2023. “Mothers bought chicken, rice, even marshmallows. That R500 they thought would go to shoes suddenly became disposable.” His store now hosts a donation bin for Christmas-Eve “blessing bags” at the taxi rank, proving one card swipe can pollinate a dozen other mini-movements.

Digital footprints without a face
Hashtags #LayByBuddy overtook #Springboks on X, yet no influencer could tag the hero. Analyst Nadia Brijlal says the absence of a “hero selfie” forced the crowd to own the emotion; grandmothers, teens and pastors filled the vacuum with micro-stories that outperformed polished ads.

How you can join
– Dial 134 432# (R5–R1 000 a shot, R5 000 daily cap)
– EFT via the King Baudouin Foundation for tax certificates
– Nominate a four-digit store code (Aberdeen is 0417)
100 % of each rand hits the server; PEP absorbs bank fees. Foreign donors and diaspora communities already pitch in, turning a Karoo fix into a global relay.

A pink glitter message
Store manager Mabeqa keeps a visitors’ book for grateful recipients. One entry reads: “To the stranger who gave my baby warmth – may your own nights never know cold.” In a town where the Gini coefficient is 0.69, that sentence is perhaps the most equal thing Aberdeen has shared in years.

What happened in Aberdeen, South Africa, just before Christmas?

A secret donor anonymously paid off 260 lay-bys at a PEP store in Aberdeen, South Africa, totaling R132,500. This act of generosity allowed many families to collect essential items like school clothes and baby blankets, bringing significant relief and joy to the community right before Christmas.

Who was the secret donor and how did they make the payment?

The secret donor was described as a stranger in faded khaki shorts who walked into PEP Store 417 on December 15th at 09:07. He paid the R132,500 total for 260 lay-bys using six card receipts. He declined to be identified or photographed, simply stating, “Tell them the tab is closed; enjoy the season” before leaving.

What is the PEP Lay-by Buddy fund and when did it start?

The PEP Lay-by Buddy fund is a charitable initiative that enables individuals to donate money to clear outstanding lay-by balances for customers in need. It originated from a similar act of kindness in Mossel Bay in 2019 and was officially formalized by PEP in June 2020. This initiative allows for micro-kindness to be scaled nationally, preventing lay-bys from being forfeited.

What kind of items were covered by the lay-by payments in Aberdeen?

The items covered were diverse and essential for the community. Approximately 38% were schoolwear, 24% baby clothes and blankets, 18% adult work-clothes, 11% household linen, and 9% entry-level tech. These items ranged from R190 baby leggings to a R2,800 triple-uniform bundle, fulfilling critical needs for many families.

What was the impact of this act of kindness on the community of Aberdeen?

This act had a profound impact, freeing roughly 1,300 residents (8% of the town’s population) from the shame of forfeited items. It sparked immense joy and relief, turning a difficult December into a festive celebration. Local businesses, such as a nearby Spar, also saw a positive ripple effect, with a 22% sales increase as residents had more disposable income. The story also inspired a wave of micro-stories and renewed community spirit.

How can individuals contribute to the PEP Lay-by Buddy fund?

Anyone can contribute to the PEP Lay-by Buddy fund through several methods: by dialing 134432# (donations from R5 to R1,000, with a R5,000 daily cap), by making an EFT via the King Baudouin Foundation for tax certificates, or by nominating a specific four-digit store code (like Aberdeen’s 0417). 100% of each donated rand goes directly to clearing lay-bys, as PEP absorbs all bank fees.