This heartwarming story began more than a decade ago when a poor Vietnamese construction worker who had little to his name invested his own money into building a cemetery fully dedicated to aborted babies back in 2001.
Many aborted children, even including those of a developed country such as Singapore, are being discarded as medical waste, but Tong Phuoc Phuc from the Vietnamese town of Nha Trang believes that even fetuses have souls and wanted to do more for them.
Tong’s story began in 2001 when his wife was pregnant. Upon accompanying her to the hospital, he noticed many pregnant women entering the room next door but leaving without babies. He had learned that these babies were being aborted.
Tong’s heart had broken knowing that these little angels were not given the chance to come to this world. He then asked if he could take all of the hospital’s aborted babies in order to give them a proper burial. After all, they too were human beings.
With his own savings, Tong bought a piece of land in his town and created a graveyard. He continued his service for the unborn fetuses ever since.
Till this date, Tong has buried more than 16,000 unborn babies and is still deeply devoted to his cause.
“Over 12 years I built three cemeteries, containing some 16,000 graves,” he says in the documentary Tough Love.
“I do this because I think of those children who are alive and can enjoy all the fun, going to school and eating candies and cakes.”
“These kids have lost that privilege. At least I can give them a tomb,” he says while putting sand over the pot of a fetus to build another tomb in his backyard.
“Young women can look at this so they stop doing things that lead to this.”
In truth, the mere sight of Tong’s first graveyard, which contains 10,00 baby graves, has already had an effect of dissuading many expecting mothers – who traveled to the Graveyard to mull over their thoughts – from having abortions.
Taking it to the next level
One day, Tong decided that it wasn’t enough to just bury aborted babies, and took his selfless endeavor to the next level. He wanted to save the children before they were aborted and give them a chance at life.
If the mother did not want to have the baby, then Tong would offer to raise it himself. He tries to persuade these ladies, many of whom are in their teens, not to make decisions they may regret for the rest of their lives. He offers to love and care for their babies, and shall they one day want their babies back, they would only need to say the word.
“If I hadn’t come here, I would have had an abortion, too,” says Nhung Nguyen, as she sits beside her adorable little daughter, who was saved thanks to Tong’s efforts.
“Uncle Phuc (Tong) came to see me, persuaded me not to have an abortion, and promised to help,” she added.
Tong has been able to save hundreds of babies from abortion since embarking on this special journey. Many of them are being raised at his orphanage, which is located in his hometown.
In addition, he currently raises 20 rescued children in his home, while 50 more children are being raised in his second home in Cam Ranh, thanks to the loving support provided by a local church, which he had reached out to for help.
“I explain to them why they’re alive now,” he says in Tough Love.
Had Tong not received assistance it would have been painfully difficult, if not impossible, for one man to handle such a daunting task alone.
“I’m getting more and more help,” says Tong. “Some people help me with actions, others bring things, rice and salt, for example. Others give money for educating and sheltering the children, to allow me to continue my work.”
“I put my heart and my soul into this,” he added.
Tong says that he is now very happy to see that the abortion rate has gone down significantly.
“In 2004, there were about 30 babies taken to this cemetery to be buried each day. Now, there are days that no babies are taken to this place. I am very happy about that,” he said.
There is no denying that Tong deserves to be called a true hero.
It is unknown how many more lives have been saved thanks to his efforts.
You can view Tough Love here:
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