Kenyan Woman Gets Free China Trip Thanks to Photoshop

By Daniel Mannering

A Kenyan woman unexpectedly got a free trip to China earlier this month thanks to the help of friends, a fairy 'god-trepreneur' and some anonymous internet users.

Sevelyn Gat, whose lifetime dream was to travel to China, couldn't afford a ticket. So she went the creative route and had herself Photoshopped into images of famous sights around the Middle Kingdom.

After painstakingly crafting her semi-realistic sightseeing voyage, which included stops at the Great Wall and Temple of Heaven, she took to Facebook to share her dream snaps. She even included a shot of herself ready to board a flight.

Inspired by Gat’s determination, Kenyan entrepreneur Sam Gichuru took steps to make her trip a reality. In a post on Facebook, he wrote: "I like dreamers because I'm a dreamer and my weekend dream is your ticket to Hong Kong (or Beijing), China, if you were serious, I mean really serious, I have good news for you, get your passport ready because your dreams are about to come true.”

Gichuru's post got people talking, and within just a few days his followers had raised enough money to help Gat go to China. In a followup post, Gichuru shared the good news:

    "Sevelyn, we have raised enough in cash and kind to send you to China, travel, accommodation (4star), travel insurance and pocket money and probably a visit to the Kenyan embassy in Beijing to meet the Kenyan Ambassador to China (to be confirmed -praying)."

The internet, of course, reacted in its usual fashion, with the hashtag #WhereIsSeveGatsNow inspiring a slew of sarcastic images and parodies.

This isn't the first time the dream of visiting China has inspired such a 'strong' reaction: eight-year-old Dorian of #D-Strong fame saw thousands of web users from around the globe show support for his desire to become famous in China.

[Images via CCTV Africa, Facebook]

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