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Retiree works as surrogate father

(www.xinhuanet.com)
Updated: 2007-02-12 10:48

A retiree in his 70s in Jingxian County, Anhui Province, has been playing the role of parent for 428 children whose parents have gone off to the city in search of work.

The man, surnamed Wang, set up a school in 2002 for several hundred children. He hired nine workers to help them study and to look after the children after school. The school is equipped with computers, copy machines and a library. Although each student pays 1,500 yuan ($185) every semester, Wang said the school was struggling to make ends meet.

To keep the school going, Wang has collected over 800,000 yuan ($100,000) from individuals and groups and spends 3,000 yuan ($370) of his own money every year.