A Virginia high school custodian was overcome with emotion, shedding tears of joy and rolling around on the ground when a group of students surprised him with his dream car Monday after raising $20,000.
James Madison High School janitor Francis Apraku left his family behind to come to America a few years ago and told a group of students that even though he always wanted a Jeep Wrangler for his birthday, he couldn’t afford it, according to a GoFundMe set up by the boys.
The students started the fundraiser last year when they were freshman and a year later their efforts paid off.
“We just kind of decided we were going to try to get him his Jeep Wrangler with the GoFundMe, and we never really thought that it would come this far,” sophomore Logan Georgelas told Fox 5 DC.
“When we got $5,000 in the first day, we were like, all right, this is real.”
Video captured the heartwarming moments after the students presented Apraku with his new wheels.
Apraku was seen rolling on the sunny pavement with his arms extended above his head in the parking lot of a local restaurant where the surprise took place.
He laid on the ground in pure disbelief and bliss before he was finally helped to his feet.
“Oh my God,” he kept saying. “Oh my God.”
He said he would never forget the generosity he was shown.
“I will give thanks to Almighty God for making today for me. Today is a great day for me and I didn’t believe this would happen in my life,” Apraku told Fox 5 DC.
One of the students told WUSA that Apraku is more than a custodian to them.
“He’s a dear friend to all of us. He’s just a very kind, genuine person,” the teen said.
“Ever since we met Francis he has been super kind and friendly and sometimes even says prayers for us,” the boys said in their fundraiser.
