The moving story of a community rallying together to help a friend in need.

John, from Nigeria, has lived for several years in Ciampino, near Rome, where he makes ends meet by sweeping the streets and helping out with odd jobs here and there.

Polite, kind and always smiling, John is a well-known and much-liked character in the Ciampino area.

So when the local residents heard that John's mother had died, and that John could not afford to return to Nigeria for her funeral, they decided that something must be done to help.

Unbeknownst to John, the owners of Geff Caffè set up a collection to raise enough money to buy John a plane ticket to Nigeria so that he could bid a final farewell to his mother.

The bar's manager Cristian De Filippis placed an earthernware pot on the counter into which the regulars stuffed banknotes.

They donated generously and within four days they had raised the price of a return ticket to Nigeria.

An unsuspecting John was then presented with the pot and was invited to smash it open to reveal his surprise gift.

When a heap of banknotes spilled out of the pot, John was overcome with emotion and broke into tears of joy.