Two American specialists will perform free plastic and reconstructive surgery for six Shenzhen orphans in conjunction with Beijing University Shenzhen Hospital.

The children, who are from Bao'an and Longgang social welfare centers, have various deformities.

The operations have been jointly arranged by the Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Town (OCT) Lion's Club and Warren R. Osborn, a Utah-based entrepreneur and philanthropist.

"Through our joint efforts with Mr. Osborn, we not only wish the orphans with congenital malformations to regain a normal life but also aim to call for more public attention and care for all orphans in the city," said Huang Xianzhu, chairman of the OCT Lion's Club.

From May 1 to 3, the club raised a total of 28,000 yuan (US$3,394) for the operations through a charity bazaar, Huang said.

The two American specialists, William G. Williams, assistant professor of the plastic surgery division at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Texas, and Kimball M. Crofts, surgeon with the Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah at Provo, Utah, and two nurses Tami Cavalli and Filomina George, were invited by Osborn.

Osborn, who owns the Seastone packaging design and manufacturing company with 40 subsidiaries around the world, visited Shenzhen on business 19 years ago.

"Two years ago, I got to know Mei Ju, a public relations chief with the OCT Lion's Club, whose son had a harelip," Osborn said in fluent Chinese.

"Through helping her son, I came to realize there were more children suffering the same congenital malformation in the city, so I decided to try my best to help more children," he said.

The operations for the six orphans will last one week and the Shenzhen Daily will follow up the event in the next few days.

(Shenzhen Daily June 9, 2004)