A man in Nanjing, China has spent every weekend for the last 13 years in the same spot: on Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, one of the most popular places in the world to commit suicide.
Every Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. the man– 48-year-old Chen Si– patrols the bridge looking for anyone who may be there to jump. He’s devoted to talking these people down and helping them find their way again. Not only does he devote his time to rescuing the desperate people who go to the historic bridge to end their lives, Chen Si gives money to his mission, too.
He rents an two-bedroom apartment near the bridge so that the people he saves have a place to go; Chen Si spends about half of the money he makes volunteering on the bridge.
Daily Mail
Many of the people he saves are migrant workers who fail to prosper in the big city of Nanjing, but who feel the cannot return home.
“I was once of them,” says Chi, who used to be a migrant worker but who now works for a logistics company. ” I was helped by a kind-hearted countryman when I faced hardship working as a vegetable seller in Nanjing… When my life got better, I wanted to help the others find hope.”
In 2015, an award-winning documentary was made about Chen Si called Angel of Nanjing. In the trailer, Chen Si explains, “There’s a saying in China, ‘The prosperity of a nation is everyone’s responsibility.’ How can we avoid this responsibility?”
And he clearly does take it seriously. According to Daily Mail, Chen Si has “successfully stopped 321 people from attempting suicide, provided assistance to 280 people who were in need of help and spent 12,650 hours looking after those he had saved.”
Daily Mail
Daily Mail
“Sometimes, you face difficulty while living alone away from your home, ” says Chen Si, “all you need is a little encouragement from the others.”
Check out more of Chen Si’s amazing story in the video below, and share today!
For more like this, check out this story of a woman who credits J.K. Rowling with saving her from suicide and this story of a 911 dispatching talking a suicidal man down with her words of kindness.
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