Ordinary households in south China's Guangdong Province are being encouraged to adopt handicapped children and orphans.

The adoption drive is part of a bigger program called Caring the Future of Children that has been in place since 2004.

"The effort is considered one of the most effective ways to protect the rights of this special group of children, which includes the handicapped and the homeless," said Liu Zhiwei, a spokesman of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Civil Affairs.

He said 932 orphans and handicapped children had been placed with families around the province this year. "By placing these children with families, we can make sure that they have a better chance of being cared for. Adoption will also help ensure that they can exercise their rights, like their right to education," Liu said.

He said most of the children had been adopted from welfare homes. "We are planning to build more homes to host handicapped children and orphans," said Liu, adding that all cities in the province were required to set up at least one welfare facility for children. There are currently seven cities in Guangdong that lack welfare and charity homes for the needy.

"Welfare homes are required to provide facilities for education, rehabilitation and entertainment," Liu said.

Guangdong is home to 50 welfare homes, housing more than 7,000 children, of which 60 percent are handicapped.

"As one of the most populous provinces, Guangdong has a large share of handicapped children and orphans," Liu said, adding that most of the orphans had come from other provinces and regions.

At the end of November, more than 10,000 vagrant children roamed cities' streets. More than 90 percent of those children had come from other provinces.

"Besides encouraging ordinary households to adopt orphans, we have also been working closely with international foundations to be able to offer financial support to pay for the children's education," Liu said in an interview with China Daily.

(China Daily December 22, 2006)