A Tuam woman got a wonderful surprise earlier this week when she was contacted by a man in Armenia who had received a generous gift from her a whopping sixteen years ago.
When Claire Fahy was an eight-year-old school girl, she sent a charity gift box full of clothes and other goods to a less well off child abroad. She accompanied the gift box with a note stating her hope that the recipient would enjoy its contents and she included her address in the hope he/she would make contact with her some day.
Now 24 years old, Ms Fahy was contacted via Facebook earlier this week by Arsen Khachatryan from Yerevan in Armenia. Mr Khachayrayn said he always wanted to express his gratitude to ‘a very generous woman’ for her kind act. He was anxious that Ms Fahy reply to let him know if he had found the right person as if it was not the case he wished to continue his search. However he had indeed located the sender of the shoe box.
Speaking to the Galway Advertiser, an emotional Ms Fahy said she was stunned when she received the message. “He mailed me via Facebook and sent me a picture of the note that I had sent with the shoebox. I think it is amazing that a complete stranger kept a note that I wrote 16 years ago. He said lots of people in his school benefited from the toys and clothes which we sent out. It just shows how much a small act of kindness meant to him.”
The Claretuam native has continued her correspondence with Mr Khachaytryan via Facebook mail since he made contact with her. “It really is a great story, he is now 27 years old. He managed to put himself through college and qualify as an accountant and he now runs his own travel agency. He is married to a beautiful lady called Lilit and they have an eight-month-old baby girl.”
Ms Fahy says the whole experience has been very emotional for her. “I’m crying for 24 hours now. It is a wonderful he got in touch. I’m just so happy that a little gesture by me made his childhood a bit better.”
