Over 10 children have died in the home of Mohamed Bzeek and if he has anything to do with it, there will be more.
While this may sound like the plot of a horror movie, it is in fact a sign of the good that still remains in this world.
Mohamed Bzeek's bushy appearance may not conjure angelic similarities, but his actions certainly do.
The Libyan-born widow who now lives in Azusa, California, has committed the past 20 years of his life to being a foster father for terminally ill children who have been abandoned by their parents.
If he doesn't take them in to his care, the children will live out the rest of their short lives alone in a hospital bed.
"There's many kids, nobody wants to take them, because usually the ones that are going to die, nobody wants to deal with death, you know.
"So these kids, if we don't take them they are going to stay in a hospital or a facility, there is no bond, there is nobody holding them ..."
"I always talk with my kids. Doesn't matter if [they're] blind or dead, I always talk to them."
Mohamed describes the children that come in to his care as human beings with souls and feelings.
And thanks to Mohamed, they are surrounded by strength, warmth and a whole lot of love in their final years, months and days.
Mohamed, who is a devout Muslim, claims his strength comes from his own experience when he was diagnosed with cancer at 62 years old.
His son has a handicap and his wife has already passed away, so he had to undergo daunting surgery with nobody by his side.
"On December 20, I was diagnosed with colon cancer, and I had to go to the hospital to operate on me one day before my birthday.
"I was so scared. I'm 62 years old, I was so petrified because I have nobody to go with me."
In these moments he experienced what it felt to be truly alone, just like the helpless children whom he is determined to protect from feeling the same pain he did.
"I was so scared, I felt what the kids felt. They are alone by themselves, this makes me do more for these kids, because I was in their shoes."
Mohamed's heart of gold ensures that dying children have a sense of security and comfort in knowing they are not alone and never will be.
"Those kids need somebody to take them in to their house to make them have a family have brothers and sisters, and somebody who takes care of them, loves them and tell them, 'I am here for you, we'll go through this together.'"
His words leave a lasting impression and a realisation that the world needs more people like Mohamed Bzeek.
Â
This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission.
