Selfless Plumber Repairs Sick 91-year-old Woman’s Boiler For Free

In the British town of Burnley lives a selfless plumber named James Anderson. He is a man who is skilled in his craft, plumbing.

In the course of his work, he realized something that changed the course of his business; the elderly and the disabled in his community were suffering silently.

“A lot of disabled and elderly people don’t like asking for assistance,” James told BBC. He added that most carry on without repairs if they cannot afford the service, which has been disastrous, especially in the harsh winters.

Source: James Anderson/Facebook

While he is by no means rich, he has a big heart. He is the man behind DEPHER (Disabled and Elderly Plumbing and Heating Repairs).

DEPHER CIC is an organization that offers free or heavily discounted repairs to the elderly and disabled. This organization gained publicity from Anderson’s interactions with a terminally ill 91-year-old lady who was in need of boiler repairs.

Anderson’s First Encounter with the 91-Year-Old Gravely Ill Lady

Anderson first met his 91-year-old client when she needed her boiler fixed in the dead of the winter season. He quickly learned that she was suffering from terminal leukemia. He fixed the boiler and sent her an invoice. The invoice total was listed as £0.00.

Source: James Anderson/Facebook

The particulars were explained as “No Charge for this lady under any circumstance.” It also went on to clarify that he will be available on call at any time.

Her daughter, Christine Rowlands, could not believe the kindness of this stranger. So she took to social media to share this great news. The post went viral, with thousands of shares and comments.

It turned out that he had been extending this kindness to countless more in his community.

Burnley is a town with an elderly population. Anderson quickly learned that a majority of the elderly were living solely on their pension, which wasn’t much. Their income was barely enough to sustain them. This is one of the reasons why he decided to offer his skills for free or at a really low cost.

Source: James Anderson/Facebook

James Anderson Good Deeds Inspires Others

When the post on Anderson’s kindness went viral, it was quite clear that he had been at it for a while. Whenever funds were available, he did the repairs for free. But when the funds were not available, he’d charge a heavily discounted amount.

At the time, he had a GoFundMe page that had raised £1000. He was more than £8000 in debt from running the organization, yet still offered heavily discounted services. With Christine’s viral post, his organization attracted scores of people who extended a hand.

Source: James Anderson/Facebook

His story has since inspired others to offer such services in their communities, and he is a happy man. “My hope is to get DEPHER national,” he said, as he indicated that he has several more plumbers helping him.

Thank you, James, for your service. May you continue offering support to those who need it most, especially at this time. Please SHARE this story to honor James.