Netizens Chip-In For Vendor Who Sold Nothing On Day 1

Story ByAna LacasaSub EditorJoseph GolderAgencyNewsflash

This photo of a heartbroken food seller looking distraught after selling nothing on his first day has gone viral sparking offers of cash and support from kind-hearted netizens.

Agnaldo Santo, 51, was snapped sitting next to his food stall with his head in his hands by his 16-year-old daughter Natalia Cristina.

She shared the photo, taken in the town of Duque de Caixas in the eastern Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, on Twitter where it has been ‘liked’ by 206,000 netizens and received thousands of comments.

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Natalia wrote: “This is a photo of my dad, a simple man who has tried so many things in his life. He tried to be famous, he also worked as a construction worker, a street seller and even a bus ticket collector.”

The teenager revealed that her father had recently been fired from his job and that he used his last salary to buy cooking equipment for his new venture.

Natalia said: “Today was our first day selling food on the square. In the picture, he is down because we did not sell anything.

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“I believe everyone has a purpose and nothing is done in vain. We are fighting and I believe that God is fair.”

According to Natalia, after the photo went viral on Twitter, the dejected dad started to see a surge in customers and netizens from around the world offered to help Agnaldo.

She said there was a long queue stretching around the square to buy his products.

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Natalia wrote: “People, even from abroad, are sending us messages about transferring money to our bank account so we can give our products to homeless people.

“My dad is very happy, he did not expect such a reaction. The aim was to raise awareness locally to help him get started.”

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