A remarkable farming couple have devoted their lives to adopting disabled orphans - taking in more than 40 children over the last 26 years . Tianwen Chen , 65 , and his wife Gairen Guo , 60 , found their first child in a box on the roadside and gradually took more and more disabled children into their two-bedroom home in rural Shanxi province , central China . But the couple have faced a great deal of heartache over the years , and are only now living comfortably with 12 of the children with the help of donations by kind-hearted people , according to the People 's Daily Online . Big family : Tianwen Chen and his wife Gairen Guo have adopted 40 disabled children over the past 26 years . Nine of the children can be seen here , enjoying a family meal together . Working hard : The Chens can now afford to send their children to school , but it has n't always been this way . The couple , who live outside of Yuanping city , found their first child - a baby girl - on the side of the road one day in 1989 and carried her home , despite not having much to live on themselves . Tianwen said he immediately felt an emotional connection with the child : 'This baby girl was in a cardboard box . She was so tiny and skinny . Both of her legs were weird and you could tell at first glance that she was disabled . ' 'When I saw this baby girl , I felt like I had been through the same things. ’ Difficult life : All of the children were disabled and many had been abandoned by their biological parents . Devoted : Tianwen says he was desperate to help and began to take more and more children into their home . Ever-growing : The couple said that even the local authorities began sending children to their home . He suffers from a genetic eye condition , and says that this made him desperately want to help disabled children . Eventually , nearly 20 children were sleeping on the floor in their 20 square metre farmhouse . The couple themselves had barely any space to lie down . They would take it in turn to wake up three or four times every night to feed the babies and change their nappies . The couple did not even have a washing machine , and Gairen was forced her laundry in icy water that was often -20 degrees Celsius . Even the local authorities began to send disabled children to the Chens , but unfortunately the government subsidy for foster parents only covered the cost of milk powder . The couple gradually used up all their savings , making them fear for the future of their children . Caring : Tianwen , feeding one of the babies above , found a baby girl in a box on the side of the road . Grief : Sadly nine of the children died . The parents still visit their tombs to carry out religious rituals . The children needed constant medical treatment , which became extremely expensive . The couple went with various children to the doctor twice a week and every day during flu season . The healthiest child had a cleft lip and palate . Sadly , nine of the children died and another 12 were adopted by other families . None of their neighbours were willing to help and it became too much for the eldest son - who decided to get up and leave . But a short online film telling the story of the Chens has changed their lives forever . The documentary called 'Fading flowers ’ gained a huge amount of support and nearly £14,000 was raised to buy the family a new 500 square metre home . The children have also been able to receive proper medical treatment , and five of them have had their disabilities corrected . Today , the couple have 12 children living with them - the eldest is 16 , and the youngest is 6 . Gairen said it 's all been worth it : 'As long as we live , we will care for the children. ’ Happier times : 12 children still live with the couple and can now receive proper treatment due to generous donations from the public . New home : A short film telling the family 's story received tremendous support online , raising £14,000 . Good education : The couple still hope to send the children to school in the city .
Tianwen Chen and wife found a baby girl in a box by the road in 1989 . They carried her home , even though they had little money to live off . The couple raised their daughter as one of their own.