“Father” of more than 3,000 unfortunate fetuses

On a late spring day, it was drizzling. Receiving a call from a stranger, Mr. Dung quickly put on his coat, put on his helmet and immediately set off. The destination was a place where a small creature had just been abandoned. He said that regardless of day or night or weather, whenever he heard of an unfortunate fetus, he would rush to pick it up and bury it, helping his children have a proper resting place.

In Kon Tum City, no one is unfamiliar with the image of Mr. Nguyen Anh Dung quietly appearing in the hospital's maternity ward, or going to cemeteries to find and bury abandoned fetuses. Therefore, whenever there is information about a similar case, people call his number.

This journey began in 2018, when Mr. Dung and his friends visited the Kon Tum City People's Cemetery. "Standing in front of the small, cold graves of unborn souls, the question haunted my mind: Besides the children resting here, how many other souls have not been buried? If no one takes care of them, where will they go? Therefore, I was determined to do something for them," Mr. Dung recalled.

Thinking is doing, returning home, Mr. Dung began searching for and bringing the unfortunate fetuses throughout Kon Tum province to rest at the Kon Tum City People's Cemetery. He said: "My first trip was to Sa Thay district (Kon Tum province) to receive a 5-month-old fetus. When I opened the bag, my hands trembled, because the baby had all the body parts, but was not lucky enough to cry when born. For the first time, I felt like my heart was being squeezed, a feeling that is hard to describe." That moment made Mr. Dung understand that this was not just a volunteer work, but a mission that needed to be pursued to the end.

In the early days, Mr. Dung had to do everything himself, from searching, receiving, bringing the children home to take care of the funeral, digging graves, and burying them. He took care of all the expenses himself, sometimes even having to borrow money to take care of the funeral. Because at that time, not everyone understood and supported the work he did, some people were concerned, even advised him to give up.

“There were times when I wondered if I could continue. But every time I saw abandoned little creatures, I couldn’t bear it. They can’t choose where they were born, but I can choose how they can rest in loving arms,” Dung shared.

His enthusiasm and perseverance gradually touched people's hearts. From the initial skeptical looks, many people began to understand the meaning of what he did. Some people silently supported, others directly contributed, helping him take care of the babies' funerals. Thanks to the cooperation of philanthropists, in 2018, the Hoa Tam Fetus Fund was established with 26 members, of which Mr. Dung is the group leader. In addition to the days when fetuses are buried, on the 16th day of the lunar calendar every month, Mr. Dung and the members take turns visiting the graves, burning incense and flowers for the fetuses.

To date, the Hoa Tam Fetus Fund has built more than 3,000 fetal graves, divided into 7 areas at the Kon Tum City People's Cemetery, Kon Tum Province. Each small grave is numbered and carefully recorded for ease of management, and at the same time, to help the child's parents easily recognize when they want to visit their unborn child.

“There were times when I went to bury the fetus and the baby’s relatives quietly followed behind. For some reason, they could not keep their child, but every time they saw a box of milk, a cake or a small toy on the grave, I knew they still remembered, still loved and quietly came back to visit their child,” Mr. Dung confided.

The "home" of little angels is cared for with all the love of the Hoa Tam Fetal Fund. Photo: NVCC

Behind the thousands of fetuses buried, it means that “Ba Dung” has thousands of more children. On that humanitarian journey, this father always has a concern about how to bring all the fetuses home and take care of their graves.

Journey of a volunteer heart

Not only is he the “father” of unborn babies, Mr. Dung is also the support for many less fortunate people in Kon Tum province. For more than 13 years, the journey of a man who quietly does charity work has been imprinted on every corner of the windy highland.

“Born and raised in the sunny and windy land of Kon Tum, where many ethnic minorities live, I soon understood the hardships of the people. Therefore, since I was a child, I have cherished the dream of doing charity work to share difficulties with the less fortunate,” Dung shared.

With that aspiration, in 2012, he started his journey by delivering noodles and rice to the Ba Na people in Plei Ngol Yo village (Ia Chim commune, Kon Tum city, Kon Tum province). To date, he has participated in more than 15 volunteer teams and groups in the province.

In 2016, he established the “Grain of Loving Rice” program, which supports 20 elderly people who are no longer able to work in Nguyen Trai ward, Chu Hreng commune and Dak Ro Wa commune (Kon Tum city, Kon Tum province). In the same year, he established the “Mam Xanh” Fund, sponsoring 5 poor but studious students. In 2018, he established the “Zero-VND Ambulance” team, supporting people from Kon Tum to go to major hospitals. Currently, the team has 5 vehicles operating regularly in Kon Tum province and connecting with many volunteer groups across the country.

Mr. Dung (top row, second from left) visits and gives gifts to lonely elderly people and orphans at the Kon Tum Provincial Social Work and Support Center. Photo: NVCC

Not stopping there, in 2022, he launched the "House of Charity" project for people in remote areas such as Dak La Commune (Dak Ha District), Dak Tang Commune (Kon Plong District), Dak Ang Commune (Ngoc Hoi District)... In the same year, he continued to build schools in border localities, typically Mo Rai Commune (Sa Thay District) and Kon Plong District. Just like that, quietly but persistently, Mr. Dung became a solid support for people with difficult lives.

“While you are young, give your all, don’t hesitate or calculate. When you do good things, society will accept them, and that is the motivation and pride to continue striving. Many people ask me what I get from doing that. I just smile and say: I get a lot. The smiles of lonely old people, the sparkling eyes of children when receiving new clothes, and the feeling of peace when knowing that a small creature is no longer cold,” Mr. Dung proudly said.

Mr. Dung said that in the coming time, he will continue to maintain and expand charity activities, targeting different provinces, to spread the spirit of charity and support more situations.

Mr. Nguyen Duy Thuan (born in 1984, in Kon Tum), a friend of Mr. Dung, shared: “Anyone can start doing charity work, but to go the long way and persevere like Dung is not easy. He not only helps unfortunate lives but also instills in others the belief that sincere giving has the power to change lives - not only of the recipient, but also of the giver. I truly admire Dung's determination and heart, and hope that stories like his will be known by many people, so that the spirit of charity can spread throughout society.”

“Don’t ask what the Fatherland has done for you, but ask what you have done for the Fatherland today” – that is the lyric in the song “Aspirations of Youth” that Mr. Dung loves and considers as the guiding principle for his volunteer journey. For him, helping others is not only a responsibility, but also a joy and a reason to live. Although the journey is still full of difficulties, he still persistently sows the seeds of volunteerism on every journey he has passed. Those silent actions not only spread love today but also contribute to building a humane and kind society.

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