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Global

Only two of China's quake orphans finds new parents


    BEIJING (Reuters) - Nearly four months an earthquake killed nearly 90,000 people in China's Sichuan province, only two of 88 orphans eligible for adoption had found a new home, local officials and state media said on Monday. Tens of thousands of Chinese families offered to take in orphans after the May 12 disaster, but most had found homes with relatives, leaving just 88 to be put up for adoption.

    One reason for the lack of families coming forward was thatmany of the orphans were handicapped, the China Daily said.

    And many of those eligible for adoption are between 10 and14, though most of those intending to adopt prefer childrenunder six, the report added.

    The two boys who had been adopted were aged 10 and 13.

    Of 532 children who lost their parents in the magnitude 7.9quake, 240 are under 14 and most have grandparents or otherrelatives as guardians.

    Only 88 in the hard-hit cities of Deyang, Mianzhu, Mianyangand Guangyuan and the Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomousprefecture had no relatives to care for them, the newspapersaid.

    (Reporting by Yu Le; Editing by Nick Macfie)