Mohamed Bzeek, a Los Angeles (USA) resident, is a single dad who fosters terminally ill children. Mohamed came from Libya more than 40 years ago for a degree in electrical engineering. He met and married his wife, Dawn, and together they had a son born with dwarfism and brittle bone disease.


The couple began providing foster care to children who were terminally ill. Often, authorities took these children from their families because of domestic violence. Other times parents abandoned children at hospitals, leaving them orphaned. Dawn passed away in 2015, and Mohamed has carried on their legacy. He has worked with 80 children over the years, and ten children passed away in his arms.


Mohamed is one of only a few foster care parents willing to care for terminally ill children. He has the required licensing by the State of California to care for medically vulnerable children, and the Los Angeles Department of Child Services closely coordinates with him.


“They tell me when children are about to die and ask if I can adopt them. They know that I do not hesitate to accept. If I don’t, they are sent to hospitals and don’t have a family or house. However, when I take them, they feel a family atmosphere. They feel safe and are loved until the end of their lives.”
-Mohamed Bzeek


Children are the most vulnerable of the human race. Sadly, every community has children that suffer. The reasons vary widely from violence and drug addiction in the home to poverty, homelessness, human trafficking, and disease. If those children make it to adulthood, and many do not, these adverse childhood experiences potentially affect their ability to be healthy, happy, and productive adults.


You can make a positive difference in your community by supporting organizations and individuals working to improve the lives of the most vulnerable children in your neighborhood. According to Our Little Roses (ourlittleroses.org, an organization that works with girls in Honduras), here are some ways to start.

1. Begin with some research to understand the existing conditions in your neighborhood and the organizations that work with those needs. The needs can vary widely depending on your location, the situation, and the challenges. For example, Honduras has a terrible problem with violence against girls. Homelessness and lack of education are considerable risks for New York City (USA) children. At the same time, poverty, malnutrition, and disease are risk factors for children in Mumbai (India).
Identify ways your skills can help a child in need.

2. Everyone has something they can contribute. Think about time, skills, and money.

3. Choose a reputable organization to help out. There are so many out there. You can find extensive resources rating them worldwide.

4. Volunteer. Selfless giving can mean the difference between life and death for some children. And selfless giving also works on us, enabling us to tap into our power of compassion and love.

5. Fundraise for your local charity and raise public awareness of their excellent work. Help them raise the needed funds to provide services. Most charities struggle to make ends meet financially.

6. Finally, get over the fear that holds you back from connecting with another human being in need. Unfortunately, this is true for many people. Do a little soul-searching and see if this is true for you.


Mohamed Bzeek shows us you can live your best life by serving children in need.


Photo by Hush Naidoo Jade Photography on Unsplash.