The Archangel of Sierra Leone

A Christmas story of extraordinary serendipity in London.

By Alexandra Piha, Senior Regional Manager (Europe, Middle East and North Africa) at Nord Anglia Education 

It was the evening of Thursday 19 December 2024. Alexios Gennaris and I had just attended the beautiful Christmas Carol concert in Ayia Sofia, the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Divine Wisdom, in Bayswater.

We didn’t stay for the after-event snacks and drinks in the cathedral’s crypt as we thought it was going to be crowded, and Alex wanted to edit the photos that he had just taken at the concert. We walked to the tube station.

Alex’s car was in Wood Green, so we went to Queensway, took the Central Line and got off at Holborn where we changed platforms to take the Piccadilly Line to Wood Green. We started walking along the platform which was very busy. It was a night of many pre-Christmas work parties, carol singing events, etc. It was around 8pm.

Passing through the crowded platform, Alex turns to me and says, “That girl needs help, she is crying, please ask her what happened”.

I hadn’t even noticed the girl who was by the wall, let alone see that she was crying.

He insisted, “She is crying, she is scared, she needs help, she seems to be no more than 12 years old, she is a child in need of help, we need to ask her what’s wrong!”

Then we saw her trying to reach out to an adult and say, “Excuse me!” The adult just passed by and ignored her and she started crying again and looked worried.

Finally, Alex asked her if she needs help. She started crying and said, “Yes, I am lost, they just announced there will be no more Piccadilly trains tonight and I don’t know how to get home and my phone died! I had a school party, and now I can’t contact my mum and I don’t know how to get home by bus!”

Alex asked her where she needs to get to and whether she knows her mum’s phone number by heart. She said yes she knows it and she needs to get to Wood Green (same destination as us). Alex said, “We will all go upstairs, call your mother from our phone, let her know you are with us and then find a bus to take us all to Wood Green so your mother can pick you up from there!” Which is what we did. She was so happy to hear this, and so relieved. We walked to the exit of Holborn tube station. Alex asked her how old she was and her name. She said she was 11 years old, and her name is Angel.

Alex immediately said, “We also have a goddaughter called Angel, or Angeliki, she is in Sierra Leone, Africa”.

Her face lit up and she said, “I am from Sierra Leone!”

We were absolutely stunned to hear that. Alexios runs a charity for Sierra Leone called Zinc House Kids. It uses crowdfunding, and also direct donations of money, school equipment, clothes, toys, and medicines for the extreme poor of that country.

What is the probability, that of the 196 countries in the world, this child that we happened to meet on the tube at a certain time, came from Sierra Leone?

It seems Alexios has special sense detectors, really sensitive receptors for people in need. I would call it his sixth sense, as it is so strong, and there are so many examples of this. He has helped so many children, I am sure God sent one more Sierra Leone child that needed help. This time in London. An angel called Angel sent at Christmas.

Angel even looked a bit like our goddaughter Angeliki, in Sierra Leone, who is 1 year old.

We spoke to Angel’s mother, who couldn’t thank us enough for bringing her daughter home, we kept in touch on the long journey back by bus with her.

We told both of them some of our stories of Sierra Leone and our Zinc House Kids there, as well as about the Hellenic TV programme that Alex does each month, called Table For Two, that updates the community on his charity work.

Angel also told us of her background and her mixed origins, but Sierra Leone is the strongest heritage in her. Angel felt safe and happy. She even fell asleep next to me in the bus. We couldn’t stop thinking in what a vulnerable position she had been. Central London at at night is not the safest place, for a lonely and scared 11-year-old.

Once we arrived in Wood Green around 10pm, it was freezing cold at the bus stop. Therefore, Alex thought we go to a McDonalds nearby and we got some food for Angel and for us. Angel said she never had a burger before, only nuggets, so Alex bought her a burger meal. This reminded us of another adorable girl in Sierra Leone, who never had burgers before.

Her mother finally arrived and cried and hugged us and said how thankful she is for bringing her daughter back safe. We hope to keep in touch with them.

It’s absolutely beautiful how God works through people, such as our very own Ayios Fotografos – Alexios was given this nick-name by Father Anastasios Salapatas of Bristol. He really is the Archangel of Sierra Leone.

What a Christmas week.

In Christian theology, serendipity is often interpreted as the providence of God—an unseen hand guiding events for a greater purpose. Christians may see serendipitous moments as ‘divine appointments’, where chance occurrences are not random but orchestrated by God to reveal his will, or advance his plans.

Such moments encourage humility, faith, and gratitude for the mystery of God’s ways.

Did you enjoy this article? Your support helps us create more high-quality content like this. Donate today to keep us going!

Read More...

International Edition
James Neophytou

Bikers

‘Look out! Look out! Look out! Look out!’ – Leader of the Pack, The Shangri-Las

Read More »
International Edition
James Neophytou

Pose – Power and confidence

Amy Cuddy is a social psychologist best known for her research on non-verbal behaviour, power dynamics, and the effects of body language on self-confidence and

Read More »
ΗΝΩΜΕΝΟ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΟ
Newsroom

Λονδίνο: Πράσινο φως για την ανέγερση νέου κτιρίου 54 ορόφων κοντά στο σταθμό Liverpool Street

Το έργο θα δημιουργήσει 7.500 νέες θέσεις εργασίας, ενώ θα συμβάλει στη βιώσιμη ανάπτυξη και στη βελτίωση των δημόσιων χώρων στο Σίτι του Λονδίνου.

ΔΙΑΒΑΣΤΕ ΠΕΡΙΣΣΟΤΕΡΑ