A 39-year-old Chinese man in Malaysia adopted three Malay brothers and raised them alone, like they were his own sons.
The man, now 55, said he does not regret taking the three boys in 16 years ago, adding that the trio were God-sent.
Boy was separated from his two younger brothers
The man, an event manager named Michael Tong Wai Siong, who was 39 years old then, was visiting an orphanage in the district of Gombak in Selangor, Malaysia when he noticed a young boy sitting alone, Malaysian news outlets The Star and the New Straits Times reported.
The boy, Rafie Ahmad Fauzi, was around 12 years old at that time, and reportedly avoided everyone and refused to go to school.
Tong struck up a friendship with Rafie, and went to his school to meet him and his teachers, where he learnt that the boy was experiencing learning difficulties.
He decided to pick Rafie up from the orphanage and send him to school every morning, and also enrolled Rafie in a tuition centre.
Tong's workers would pick Rafie up from school and send him to the tuition centre.
When Rafie was done, Tong would pick him up from the tuition centre and take him back to the orphanage.
Rafie started showing improvement and developed an interest in learning, and Tong kept tabs on his progress, visiting him at the orphanage.
On one of these occasions, Tong found Rafie's written note, where he asked why had he lost his parents so early in his life and why was he separated from his two younger brothers.
Adopted all three brothers
Tong said the note tugged at his heartstrings and made him cry.
Upon the orphanage caretaker's suggestion, he would adopt Rafie soon after.
Tong went on to search for Rafie's brothers, Rasyid and Abdul Rahman, finding them in another orphanage in the same state of Selangor, but in Klang.
He also adopted Rasyid and Abdul Rahman Ahmad Fauzi, uniting the three brothers, whom he endearingly referred to as the "three R's", and they all lived in his home in Selangor's Petaling district.
Tong recounted that his mother was concerned back then when he decided to take the three boys under his wing.
Tong, who is the second child and was unmarried, recalled, "While she was supportive, she did advise me that it wouldn’t be easy. But she promised to stand by me all the way."
However, Tong said, the addition of the three boys to his family was not awkward at all; they were very respectful towards the elderly and would endearingly refer to his mother as popo (Mandarin for grandmother).
Celebrate Hari Raya and Chinese New Year
Tong made sure that the boys stayed true to their roots, learning about Islam and practicing Muslim traditions.
He engaged an ustaz to conduct religious studies in his home every night.
During Ramadan, he cooked their sahur and iftar meals and fasted with them, and when Hari Raya came, took them to his Malay-Muslim friend’s house, where they prayed together.
Tong and the boys also celebrated Chinese New Year, where they would sit down and have reunion dinner together every year.
Image from The Star.
Image from Harian Metro.
Despite raising the boys like his own flesh and blood, Tong said he knows he can never replace their biological father, and has no intentions of doing so.
"I’m not Ahmad Fauzi; I'm still 'Uncle Mike'," he said. "I did it sincerely to ensure that the boys grow up to be valuable members of the community."
Never married but now a "proud" grandfather
Tong has never married, but is now a grandfather.
He said he will never be lonely due to the addition of two more R's to his family: Rayyan and Rania, who are Rafie's children.
Image from Harian Metro.
Rafie is now 29 and an entrepreneur, while Rasyid and Abdul Rahman are 28 and 24, respectively.
"All of them have their own lives and businesses and I'm proud of them,” Tong said.
Tong's story, which was first reported by Harian Metro, has turned the spotlight on him and his family, and he admitted that he was a little embarrassed.
Stressing that he is not the first person to help others of different race and religion, he said he hopes others will do the same, live in harmony and avoid playing up race and religion differences.
"These three R's (Rafei, Rashid and Rahman) are my children forever and hopefully this story will help to show that we should not look at race."
Top image from The Star