A Zimbabwe Man Is Stranded In Canada & Rick Mercer Wants To Make Him Go Viral

Canadians are known for doing good deeds, and local celebrities are no exception. Rick Mercer went to Twitter to share a story that he felt needed more attention, in order to help someone who was in need. He even asked his followers to make it go viral.

Leonard Mawora, a 26-year-old student from Zimbabwe, was set to return home during a break from Memorial University in Newfoundland. Unfortunately, he discovered that he could not find his passport, which also contained his Canadian student visa.

As it turned out, he had returned a bag to a local Winners with his travel documents still packed away inside. When he returned to the store, he was told that someone else had already purchased the same bag.

"It's been really hard because the world can be a lonely place," Mawora told CBC News, "Since I lost my passport, I cannot even do anything."

The student has asked anyone who might have bought the bag to please help him find his passport. Luckily, he's not alone in his search anymore.

"If you are from Newfoundland & recently purchased a duffel bag from Winners please read," Rick Mercer tweeted, including a link to the CBC article about Mawora, "This man needs a social media Christmas miracle. Please share and make it happen."

Since sending out his post at 7:54 AM, Mercer's message has been retweeted over 1600 times. Liberal MP Scott Simms was among those who shared the message, along with internet comedian Stewart Reynolds, better known as Brittlestar.

CBC Sports Reporter Devin Heroux, Girls On Games host Leah Jewer, Musician Alan Doyle, and Tim Micallef of Tim & Sid also shared the message after being tagged by other Twitter users who responded to comedian's tweet.

Winners itself has expressed that it wants to help the student but unfortunately can't track the purchase of the bag.

"We fervently hope that a good Samaritan will find and return the documentation," a spokesperson for the store wrote in an email to CBC News.

Mawora wasn't just returning home to visit his family. He was also going back to Zimbabwe to mourn the loss of his younger brother.

While he can get travel documents from the Zimbabwe Embassy in Ottawa, he can't return to Canada without his student visa.

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