Too many times Tong Phuoc Phuc has looked at the dead body of an innocent child aborted without having a chance.
A cemetery on Hon Thom mountain is the resting place of more than 7,000 babies.
For six years, Phuc has buried the lifeless bodies of children in Nha Trang. Since 2004, he, with the help of his friends, has brought over 9,000 babies or fetuses from hospitals, maternity wards, and even dustbins to a cemetery, which is located on Hon Thom Mountain in Vinh Ngoc commune of Vietnam’s central city of Nha Trang.
In the beginning, he did the job on his own and didn’t encourage anyone to follow him as he was afraid that people might think wrongly about what he was doing. However, people from hospitals understood his goodwill. Gradually more people came to know of his work and joined him.
Tong Phuoc Phuc said that after having buried so many dead babies, he recognized that it would be better if he could try to save the their lives.
He came to hospitals and maternity wards, talked to desperate mothers who were expecting and advised them not to have an abortion. If any girl cannot afford to raise her child, he is willing to help her raise the baby until she can raise her child on her own. He promised that he would not give the child to anyone else.
Phuc has brought hundreds of babies to his own house and taken care of them. In his home at No. 56/3 on Phuong Sai Street of Nha Trang City, there are currently about 20 children being brought up. He also asked people in charge of a church in Cam Ranh town of Nha Trang to take care of another 50 babies.
The babies taken to his house all bear his surname. Boys have first name as Vinh and girls have first name as Tam. Only their middle names differ, they are the name of their mother’s hometown so that they can be easily recognized when they come back.
Phuc said that he feels very happy to see the reunion of the mothers and their children. More than 50 young boys and girls have gone back to live with their own mothers so far.
Phuc said that after six years of doing this work with his friends, he is now very glad 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.
Many times Phuc has taken women who had the intention to have an abortion to the cemetery, and then he took them to his house to see the lovely faces of the babies. Phuc said he did so because he wanted the girls to understand more about their parental responsibilities and not to regret their decisions for the rest of their lives.
Mr. Phuc has been doing this work since 2004
Mr. Phuc cries and stands feeling numb while looking at an unlucky child one last time before burying him
Fetuses were cremated
Praying for the souls of babies…
Phuc’s house is a place for bringing up abandoned children and accommodating desperate mothers
One of the lists of saved babies. Boys are called Vinh and girls called Tam
Phuc has become the father of hundreds of babies since 2004.
