Anthony Omari: Reddit Celebrates One Year Anniversary Of Donating $80,000 To Kenyan Orphanage (PHOTOS)

LOOK: Online Community Celebrates HUGE Milestone

One year ago, a Redditor called TheLake posted the story of Anthony Omari on the social news site. Omari, a Kenyan man, had been "hacked in the face by a machete after defending an orphanage for 35 children by himself."

In just 35 hours, $80,000 in donations -- from all 50 states and 46 countries -- went to Omari who had been defending the Faraja Orphanage in Ngong, Kenya.

On Sunday -- a year after his first post -- TheLake, whose real name is Ben Hardwick, came back to Reddit to tell the community about the difference their donations had made.

"I figured you might like to know just how much of a difference you have made in the lives of the children he was protecting,” Hardwick, who is a Penn State student, wrote on the site. He marked the milestone with a happy photo.

Story continues after photo

In the original post, Hardwick asked the online community to send money for a cement and barbed wire wall to protect Omari and the 35 children. During two incidents, Omari had only a hammer to chase away intruders, who returned one night to strike him in the face with a machete.

"Think we can raise $2000?" Hardwick asked, underestimating the response he'd get.

Just after his request, the story went viral. Hardwick even went to Kenya to oversee construction.

"That post you made a year ago is one I'll always remember," user lovelolo wrote Sunday. "Omari is a superhero."

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