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Unemployed Klerksdorp paramedic uses his qualifications to help others

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Paballo Lebone. (Photo: Supplied)
Paballo Lebone. (Photo: Supplied)

“When a person says you’ve saved my life, it’s priceless.”

Paballo Lebone (25) from Klerksdorp in North West continues to put the needs of others before his own. 

From saving a homeless woman who was giving birth in the middle of the street, to helping put out fires in his hometown, Paballo goes out of his way to help those in need.

In 2018, the paramedic and firefighter moved to Johannesburg in hopes of finding a job. But soon afterwards he had to move back home due to his grandmother’s declining health.

“Once she gets better, I hope to move back to Joburg,” Paballo tells YOU.

During that year, he made headlines for helping a woman give birth in the street in Hillbrow.

“I was walking with my cousin in Hillbrow and there was a group of people surrounding a woman on the street. She was giving birth, so I helped her,” he said, according to Sowetan Live.

Paballo, who has a higher certificate in firefighting, ambulance and safety skills from the Impact Emergency Technologies training college, said he used the skills he learnt to help deliver the baby safely.

“I used sewing thread to clamp the umbilical cord and I even delivered the placenta because the ambulance was still on the way,” he said.

He thought this would be his chance to finally get a job in the field he loves after years of unemployment, but he’s still struggling.

Paballo has also helped a man who was stabbed after being mugged and a woman who was hit by a car.

“Now I actually walk around with surgical gloves because I keep encountering people who are hurt.”

He said he dreams of starting his own business someday where he could help equip the youth with basic skills in firefighting, ambulance and safety.

He hopes his efforts will eventually lead to every household in his community having a medical aid kit.

Paballo lives with his unemployed mother and grandmother. When there are events that need paramedics, he’s on medical standby, which helps him help put food on the table.

But the family mainly survive on his 83-year-old grandmother’s pension grant.

“I just want to support my family,” he said.

Despite his dire financial situation, Paballo has never charged those in need of his help.

“I don’t want people to think I’m helping them for money, I’ve had an incident where I helped someone, and they offered me money but I refused. I just love helping people when I can,” he added

It’s his way of giving back to the community.

Source: Sowetan Live

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