Li Hao

    SHE is a 56-year-old woman who makes her living collecting recyclable material.

    For the past 30 years she has been passionate about one thing: adopting abandoned babies.

    She has rescued and raised 32 abandoned babies from under bridges, at roadsides and in garbage heaps, mostly baby girls.

    She is Zhang Fei from Shandong Province who lives with her nine adopted children — the youngest just 3 months old — in Puning, eastern Guangdong.

    Her life is occupied with collecting recyclables and trying to find the money for medical treatment for the children.

    Abandoned by parents at birth, Zhang Fei was found by a woman named Wu on a street in Xuzhou, Jiangsus Province.

    Wu died when Zhang was 8 years old and Zhang started feeding herself by working as day labor and babysitter.

    Abandoned

    The experiencse of being abandoned by her parents left Zhang in fear of marriage and a passion for helping abandoned babies.

    Zhang still remembers seeing her first abandoned baby in Xuzhou in Jiangsu Province.

    “I was 21 years old when I saw people surrounding an abandoned baby under a bridge. Half the baby’s head had been bitten by a stray dog,” she said.

    She was saddened by the death for a long time.

    “I would have died like that baby if I had not been adopted,” she said.

    In 1978, Zhang found a newborn baby under a bridge in Xuzhou.

    “The baby was so weak in the cold weather that her lips had turned blue,” Zhang said.

    Without a second thought, Zhang took the baby to her home — a plastic tent.

    In the following two years, Zhang adopted another two abandoned babies in Xuzhou.

    Zhang wandered with her children to Jiangsu, Fujian and finally settled down in a 10-square-meter makeshift tent in Puning in Guangdong Province.

    She continued rescuing and raising abandoned babies in Puning.

    Zhang gave all the adopted children the family name, Wu, in memory of her own adopted mother.

    “Although living a poor life, I did not have the heart to give them up,” said Zhang.

    Her adopted children all left to make a living when they grew up, but few had kept in contact with her.

    On one occasion, Zhang was confined to bed for several days with an illness. She had to take the children to beg on the street.

    Zhang’s persistence in adopting abandoned children raised questions about her motives.

    “I was angered when some people asked me to sell a baby to earn money.

    “I have never thought of giving up my children. They are lives,” she said.

    “My suffering is always overshadowed when my children call me mother,” she said, smiling.

    Five years ago, the Puning government provided Zhang and her children with a four-room apartment and granted them permanent residence.

    Zhang was also given a monthly subsistence subsidy.

    Love sacrifice

    Zhang’s dedication in caring for abandoned children cost her a chance at love.

    “I met a man from northern China, who was very nice to me,” she said.

    “He always gave me money to raise my children, 2,000 yuan (US$308) each time, which saw me through many difficult times,” she said.

    However, the two lost contact when the man left.

    “I thought of finding a husband when I was young. Some people arranged a blind date for me when I was about 30. But when he asked me to give up my adopted children, I refused.”

    As time passed, Zhang started thinking of how to educate her adopted children instead of just feeding them.

    In 1992, Zhang was shocked when a girl who had left returned and secretly took away five younger brothers and sisters. She later learned that one of the girls had committed suicide after being cheated out of her money.

    She then became strict with the children, but found it hard to cope.

    She found that the children were mostly in no mood to study and had introverted personalities.

    A psychologist at Jinan University in Guangzhou, Professor Ye, suggested Zhang have her children counseled by a professional child psychologist.

    “It will help children change their lack of self-esteem,” said Ye.

    Chairman of the Guangdong Orphans’ Education Society, Wang Songtang, said Zhang’s children needed more than just material aid.

    “These children grow without a father’s love and have no complete family education, which leaves them open to becoming psychologically unhealthy,” said Wang.

    One of her children, Fangfang, who was admitted to the best middle school in Puning, has started opposing the continued adoption of abandoned children.

    Fangfang said Zhang was incapable of educating the adopted children.

    Zhang is seeking medical treatment for her five children who suffer from heart disease and leukemia and one has a cleft palate.