More than 10 years ago, a young Indonesian boy named Martunis lost his mother and two siblings in a devastating Indian Ocean tsunami. The Dec. 26, 2004, earthquake that triggered the tsunami killed roughly 230,000 people in 14 countries.
Somehow, the 7-year-old Martunis survived by himself on an island for three weeks before being found by a news camera crew. He was wearing a jersey that represented the Portuguese national soccer team.
Martunis later reunited with his father, and he said the dream of becoming a professional soccer helped keep him alive.
“I was not afraid at all because I wanted to be alive to meet my family and become a football player,” Martunis explained, via Coconuts Jakarta.