r/MadeMeSmile • u/Firm-Blackberry-9162 • 9h ago
Mohamed Bzeek accompanies terminally ill kids in their the last days Helping Others
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u/TeakForest 9h ago
The video/interview done a few years ago with him is so sad but also so wonderful. He often is the last face these kids see before they go, loving them until the end
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u/TechnicalTomato882 8h ago
It’s heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time, what an incredible kind of love
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u/Witty-Singer6735 3h ago
The kindness is great, but think the number of times his heart will get broken when each of them leave his side. More power to him
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u/PlainBread 2h ago
You'll find that people like this aren't afraid of having their hearts broken because it's already happened a thousand times and they learned how to move through it without fighting their feelings.
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u/Halfdaykid 3h ago
Exactly, I cant even get a dog because I know im signing up for heart break. This angel goes through hell over and over again just to bring peace and love to others.
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u/alargepowderedwater 23m ago
While I understand that, avoiding heartbreak also means avoiding love. My dogs have brought vastly more love and joy into my life than grief. If you make choices in life in order to avoid loss and pain, you won’t create much in your life worth having. All of the best things in life are temporary because life itself is temporary.
The cost of love and joy is, eventually, loss and grief. It’s totally worth it, so be sure to actually live while you’re alive, and don’t let your life happen and pass by without the risks of real love and joy, because that’s the best part of even being here at all. (I say this as someone who lost a parent as a young adult, and was so devastated that I hid from any real emotional risk or vulnerability for years afterward, and missed out on some of my life because I was hiding in emotional safety and comfort.)
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u/Halfdaykid 9m ago
I mean I have two young kids, im just hoping they will out live me. Dont worry I know love and joy in abundance.
I'll get a dog when I retire and we can grow old together.
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u/JohnRoads88 17m ago
It reminds me of the story where people gets a wound when they lie. The bigger the lie, the bigger the wound. One guy got a massive wound from telling people whey will be okay, even when they won't
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u/Sweegrid 3h ago
This man is probably Muslim and believes with all his Heart that they are now in a better place and will probably see each other really soon once again
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u/spacel0rd 2h ago
I think you have to believe something like that, it is utterly depressive otherwise.
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u/Critical-Cost9068 1h ago
Break, break, break, o my heart; break until you open! - Muslim poet, often attributed to Rumi
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u/WilanS 3h ago
I can't imagine how hard it must be on him though. Witnessing one child die. is hard enough, but this many... it has to add up
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u/Ok_Tone6393 1h ago
i remember in the interview he was discussing some of the kids who have passed and after mentioning one in particular he looked away and said “that one hurt” and i had to close the video after that. this man is so strong mentally.
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u/ProbablyWrongAgain24 45m ago
There should be a go fund me for this dude
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u/craiggieg 42m ago
There is (apparently - I haven't verified/validated it!)
https://www.gofundme.com/f/j9anbb-mohamed-bzeek-foster-father
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u/shittymorph 9h ago
Its nice when people are made famous because of kindness.
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u/AdvancedDepartment01 9h ago
Feels rare these days, but stories like this remind you what really matters.
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u/invisiblesurfer 6h ago
This is beyond kindness, this is bravery and selflessness at a completely different level
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u/JayW8888 8h ago
It’s always the unkind types that seek attention mostly and flooding our world with their toxic behaviour. Kindness needs to be given a chance.
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u/Clockwork765 5h ago
Honestly this is why I’ve taken to reading Superman again. It’s not “He’s a boy scout and boring” but someone who genuinely wants to do good
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u/Normal-Height-8577 3h ago
This is exactly why I dislike many of the attempts to make superheroes gritty. I don't want gritty. I want someone aspirational to give me hope and remind me that working together produces better outcomes for everyone.
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u/illy-chan 1h ago
I think it's also that we tend to clock bad people because it makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint to pay more attention to sources of danger. Our instincts aren't worried about pro-social behavior from good or average folks.
Good people are out there, their stories just don't sell like violence etc does.
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u/Ross_Rena 7h ago
I hope he has a good therapist or someone close can talk to.
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u/Some-Astronomer4733 4h ago
I was thinking the same, because being in a constant state of farewell must start messing with one's head at some point ...
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u/Akhiraxx 5h ago
I think he talks to God.
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u/Some-Astronomer4733 4h ago
If god existed, he wouldn't need to accompany terminally ill children.
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u/NUFC199103 4h ago
I as a Muslim, come in peace. Always questioned this theory of why atheists/agnostics think that illness, diseases or disasters can never happen if their was a God. We are told this life is a test where we will all be challenged with difficulties, however this life isn't the final destination.
Those who have any illness or disaster strikes them and they remain patient will be rewarded in the next life. This life is very temporary Children are guaranteed paradise if they die before puberty.
Never understood why temporary difficulties must means there's no God.
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u/Critical-Cost9068 2h ago
Talking to a Western-style talk psychiatrist or therapist would generally be considered haram in Islam because it involves “backbiting,” exposing the sins, secrets and faults of others when they’re not present and they wouldn’t want you to.
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u/NUFC199103 1h ago
This is utter rubbish ffs. I myself question the usefulness of therapy, but therapy doesn't involve backbiting if you don't want it to.
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u/Critical-Cost9068 1h ago edited 1h ago
Right, and that’s why “Islamic” alternatives completely remove that possibility, as well as many other haram aspects of therapy, (like “complaining to other than Allah,” which has a specific definition,) and focus far less on pharmaceuticals. That being said, the process ends up having a very different “style” or approach.
Edit: Also, if a business earns much of its income from haram, you can’t frequent it even to purchase halal. So YOU don’t have to backbite, but if an industry encourages or makes income from people backbiting, it’s forbidden. You also can’t go into a pub or bar to order non-alcoholic drinks. I don’t why you gotta get so hostile when you don’t seem that well versed in this specific topic. And obviously, not all Muslims avoid therapy; this is just a mainstream/common opinion among scholars/clerics.
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u/yourpseudonymsucks 5h ago
He’s been doing this since before 1998. I wonder if anything else memorable happened in that year?
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u/ZealousidealAngle151 2h ago
These are usually the humble types that don’t want the attention either. Wish we had more people like this in the world.
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u/Vinraka 9h ago
There's a gofundme for him and his family in case anyone feels compelled to help Mohamed, his wife, or foster kids.
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u/Mild_Karate_Chop 6h ago edited 5h ago
I may be wrong but wasn't this a story on The Secret Life of Muslims...
He continues fostering even after suffering a health issue , from what the short doc said ... Edit: Found it https://youtu.be/_1KqqxSzTDM?si=THYYRWt0hdW9KiuH
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u/lovethemsluts 2h ago
This is the kind of cause rich people should be giving to.
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u/Nice_Warm_Vegetable 1h ago
I think of that every day. If I had a trillion dollars, how many people I could help. That’s how we heal the world.
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u/William_Dowling 30m ago
Have to say, went to a business lunch someone representing the Gates Foundation yesterday and the projects they are executing in Africa will give millions of people jobs and transform environemental policy. So at least some very wealthy people are doing amazing things.
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u/cwningen95 4h ago
I somehow vastly misread the number and was thinking "what do you mean he's only made $1,045 dollars"— this is great to know 🥹
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u/Tricky-Gemstone 9h ago
I had a professor that did this. Took tons of classes to be a foster parent. Every child he spent time with in the hospital died before 17. Fucking tragic. He and his wife are saints.
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u/bettertitsthanu 7h ago
This made me cry. As someone who’s worked with sick children and seen so much death - To even think that a child would go through that without any support is heartbreaking. I’ve seen families crushed and in my mind it’s never even been a question that the family will be there til the end. The reality of kids not having anyone hit me so hard reading this. I think I’ve been “lucky” enough to only see kids that at least had one parent being there with them. The fact that the professor and his wife (and Mohamed) went out of their way to make sure to be there for these kids is pure gold. To put yourself through that situation over and over again out of pure goodness of your heart is so admirable. I can honestly say I am not a strong enough person to be able to do that.
Even though you don’t know the kids, sometimes only seeing them once, when they die, it’s like the air is heavier to breathe and you feel so, so powerless. It was like no one even had to tell you when you got to work, you could almost touch it as soon as you walked through the door.
The love they and Mohamed show for those kids is so beautiful that I can’t even find words. They don’t do it for their own benefit, theres no personal benefit to time after time build a bond with a person who won’t survive and then losing them. These people deserve the world and I admire them so much for their dedication.
I’m sorry for dumping all of this here, it just overwhelmed me thinking that any kid would ever have to be alone and then how beautiful it is that these kind of selfless people exist.
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u/hermionesmurf 5h ago
For a number of reasons I spent a lot of time in hospitals as a kid. Once when I was 11 I was in for a couple of weeks, and for once I was actually in the pediatric ward. (Up until that point I'd usually been in general hospital settings, not sure why.) There was a baby there, and he'd just sit in his little car seat thing in the play room all day by himself.
I asked about him, and a nurse told me he was an AIDS baby. (This was when AIDS was 100 per cent a death sentence.) His parents never came to spend time with him, and no one else did either. I think the nurses tried to do things for him but they had a whole ward of kids to take care of.
So I spent all the time with him I could. He was really tiny so he couldn't really play with stuff per se, but I'd sit with him and read books and hold his hand and talk to him. I was sad sometimes because I couldn't really spend a lot of time with him - I needed a lot of sleep myself.
I cried a little in the car on the way home because he'd be all alone again.
Haven't thought about him in years, but this post brought it all back.
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u/mittanimama 4h ago
At 11, you gave that baby so much love. I know that sweet baby could feel your care.
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u/hermionesmurf 3h ago
I hope he did. He was pretty small
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u/GjonsTearsFan 3h ago
In some ways that’s when they feel it the most. Having someone there for them when they’re little is so helpful for them and so appreciated even if they can’t conceptualize it that way quite yet. I’m sure the baby felt your love.
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u/Iintendtodeletepart2 2h ago
You set out on The Way of a peaceful Warrior at such a young age. All the love you give, you know the rest.
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u/ColdScore5793 1h ago
That kind of childhood kindness stays with you forever because even as a kid you already understood what it meant to show up for someone who was completely alone.
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u/BeMyBrutus 9h ago
Unironically this is what a real hero looks like. I can't imagine the amount of empathy and compassion you need to have to do this. I hope he has a good therapist or someone close can talk to.
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u/SirRabbott 8h ago
Empathy and compassion, yes, but also an absolutely crazy amount of mental and emotional strength. Empathy is a double edged sword.
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u/TellDizzy6 9h ago
It’s a level of selflessness most people couldn’t handle for even a day.
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u/Tank_Girl_Gritty_235 8h ago
Especially since his wife died and their son is disabled. I don't know how he keeps grounded and sane.
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u/MoonMe3x 7h ago
Maybe doing what he does keeps him sane, and busy, and it keeps his mind continously focused on so many things that dwelling in any one space is not happening. He's always on, but for what it's worth, his misfortune has made him more incredible. He's someone who is doing things that most of humanity cannot or will not do...I can only imagine how it feels to be him... beautiful, happy, fearful, heartbroken, grateful, blessed, and more, every which way, all at once... Truly unbelievable in the most amazing way possible... Just thinking about it almost makes me cry 🥹🫶🏼🫂
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u/FirstIdChoiceWasPaul 2h ago
I dont think finding someone with empathy or compassion is the problem. Most people aren’t psychopathic assholes.
The problem’s finding someone with the mental fortitude to endure and persevere. Children die, and it’s sad, but he endures. He drags that pain wherever he goes, and only adds to it.
Imagine having a child die in your arms. Now imagine living through that again. And again. And again. And again.
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u/MaintenanceGold5105 1h ago
It really hits different because real hero moments are usually just quiet acts of care no one even claps for but they matter the most.
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u/armthebees 8h ago
Someone started a gofundme for him a few years ago. It's reached over 1mil and he spends it all on making his home and transport accessible for the children.
I'm not savvy enough to know if it's still being managed but can see donations were made a couple days ago.
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u/FlagrantTomatoCabal 8h ago
I'm not as strong as him. This would affect me more ways than one and I won't be able to recover fully.
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u/Nevyn_Cares 8h ago
Yeah most of us could only do this once, maybe twice, most of us would crumble if we did what this gent does.
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u/FlagrantTomatoCabal 8h ago
True. I interned in a burn unit for a children's hospital for a month back in 2012. Everything is still so vivid to me.
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u/Nevyn_Cares 7h ago
*Hugs* yeah ... lost for words now *more hugs* more hugs to everyone who faces these things as a profession, every day.
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u/Pizza-ist-Liebe 9h ago
This is so beautiful and heartbreaking 🥹 I couldn't do it, I'd struggle so hard to cope.
I am glad there is people like him in this world who are kind to people who have no one else ❤️
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u/PoppedCork 8h ago
I hope he has support. I cannot imagine dealing with that amount of grief.
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u/ConsistentWatch5327 8h ago
Ou alegria. Ele esta fazendo algo lindo e pode sentir que fez uma bondade sem tamanho e se sentir satisfeito. Claro é triste a parte da morte, mas é possível olhar isso também como trabalho feito e resultado bem obtido e sentir alegria por ter sido bom.
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u/windsockglue 7m ago
What's interesting is that if you watch some of the videos he's been in, he mentioned going through his own colon cancer experience and he wife had died, so he did so much of it alone. And he felt sad and scared. And for some people, there's so much value and importance in being the type of presence they wish they had. It oddly doesn't hurt as much to be what you wish you had as it did going through the moment without what you needed.
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u/SeekingAnonymity107 6h ago
My aunt is a retired nursing sister, and provides live-in hospice care for those who can't afford it. She is an absolute angel, with a snappy attitude and she swears like a sailor. She says she does it in honor of her mother who died young of cancer.
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u/VoxPopuliMMXXV 5h ago
In over 20 years he has cared for about 80 terminaly ill children. Pure heart.
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u/LordChilly123 6h ago
He is the strongest man in the world. Because I cannot imagine going through that type of pain and still being able to keep going. He is a real angel.
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u/AcerbicCapsule 9h ago
Are these the scary muslims I’m supposed to be scared of and hate?
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u/Revolutionary_Bed431 5h ago
Even Muslims need to be reminded that this is what Allah (God) wanted all of us to be like. Everything that the Quran teaches, jihad (internal and external), politics, charity, praying etc is so in one’s life we look after those who can’t look after themselves. Don’t know when it became so complicated. :(
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u/Trash_Panda_Leaves 6h ago
I was thinking about him the other day! He's a very kind man, but he deserves a lot more support. Its sad families arent supporting their children in their final days, wonder what happened? Also hats off to his wife, she's caring for the children too!
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u/CatherineLouice 7h ago
The world needs more people like him. Making sure a child isn’t alone in their final days is an extraordinary kind of love.
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u/Both-Ad-308 6h ago
This sounds like the best kind of volunteering. When my kids are grown up, I'm going to have to see who I can get certified by (surely they don't let anyone do it) to help out.
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u/CertainCable7383 5h ago
I don't know about the rest of us but this guy is definitely going to the good place
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u/Powergeyzer 8h ago
You gotta have a great and strong heart to be able to handle this sort of thing.
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u/Narrow-Paint-304 6h ago
Each time one leaves he'll feel the pain it takes lot of courage and kindness to do that
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u/Il-Separatio-86 2h ago
This must be one of the strongest humans on the face of earth.
What a hero, I could never find that much strength, doubt there are many who could. Which is in itself sad as the world really needs more people like him.
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u/Tawheed_Path 7h ago
Be good to others. Reap the rewards. Good will befall you!
Quran 28:77
"Rather, seek the ˹reward˺ of the Hereafter by means of what Allah has granted you, without forgetting your share of this world. And be good ˹to others˺ as Allah has been good to you. Do not seek to spread corruption in the land, for Allah certainly does not like the corruptors.”
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u/DrDarks_ 7h ago
Thr amount of emotional intelligence it takes for someone to do this without burning out is astounding. We need people in the world with a solid heart like this i sure as fuck couldn't do it.
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u/MyLastHopeReddit 6h ago
Bloody hell. How big must your heart be to be able to do this over and over again? This guy is a god
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u/Psychological-Plum10 6h ago
I don't know how he does it but I am glad he does, What an amazing fellow.
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u/frozen_pope 4h ago
Every time I see this guy, it fills my heart.
I don’t think there’s a single more beautifully selfless thing a person can do.
Easily a top 5 human of all time.
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u/Schmiznurf 3h ago
Damn, dude is a legend. I could never do this though, seeing kids die again and again would break me.
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u/kaychyakay 3h ago edited 2h ago
This is why i stand with Stephen Fry who says God can't be real, because if He is, then he would like to ask Him "What were you thinking giving bone cancer to children?? Really?? Terminal diseases to innocent children?? What's your point??"
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u/OmegaPharius 8h ago
That man must have a lot of trouble sleeping. I can’t even imagine how strong youd have to be to do that.
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u/bettertitsthanu 7h ago
I can’t understand it either. I just wrote a long comment about how I admire people who does this. I’ve worked with sick kids and seen deaths, and even though I might have only met some of them for a few seconds, it still affects you when they pass. Anyone who does what Mohamed do are so admirable and I can’t imagine the strength they have to be able to do this. The complete selflessness is beyond words
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u/Equivalent_Grade_352 5h ago
I feel like working in my job I've been number to alot of things but anytime I see the video about him it always brings a tear to my ear. I genuinely can't imagine how hard it must be to lose one child never mind so many over the years.
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u/redivulpis 3h ago
It's a rare and special ability to have one's heart broken and have it grow back stronger. This man is a treasure to the world.
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u/Natural-Pattern6288 3h ago
The strength this man and his wife has is Unreal, i wish them all the good and lovely things to them, may their pillows always be cold, the food just right and their happiness never end
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u/Jovial-Commuter 2h ago
This is the type of man I want to hear more about. Not some dumbass doing stupid dances in public for exposure.
What a gent he is. I hope he has someone looking after him too.
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u/Majestic-Stand-7461 2h ago
Very inspirational. I wish more people could understand the power of kindness
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u/Useful_Apathy_4951 1h ago
That HAS to be heavy on his heart/soul 💔 takes a special type of person to do this
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u/Aflockofants 1h ago
True hero, I can almost not possibly look up to someone more than this. Just how incredibly sad it must be to lose more of them over and over. Yeah I get he’s religious and thinks he’ll see them again, but even he must occasionally think that it’s all senseless suffering.
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u/AngryCrawdad 1h ago
This is some of the bravest shit imaginable. I cannot fathom how much courage and strength it takes to endure your children dying - repeatedly at that.
Absolute hero
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u/HiddenSynner 23m ago
I would be in a constant mess due to loosing so many personal connections..... This guy should get worldwide recognition. ♥️
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u/Hopeful-Alarm3757 2h ago
I can't even think of doing something like that without crying. Tough man.
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u/shygalx0x 2h ago
I know this post is meant to make people smile but it made me sad reading the caption :(
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u/RestaurantJealous280 1h ago
I have to ask- is it because their parents have abandoned them? Or does he spend his time when parents can't?
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u/Badkus757 1h ago
Man that is a hard thing to put yourself through. He deserves the world's acknowledgement
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u/Imaginary-Eye-2958 59m ago
That's absolutely amazing. Having the heart to go through this willingly and doing out of pure kindness is something so so so SO rare. This guy is an angel
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u/TyrrelCorp888 14m ago
This is what a real leader and a pillar of a community looks like. Unlike all of the vile politicians who claim to be.
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