Fourteen children, aged between six and 14, moved from the city's help center for the homeless to the welfare center for orphans to begin a new life Sunday morning, the Daily Sunshine reported yesterday.

This could lead to them being adopted by local families and going back to school, the report said.

The welfare center will continue to search for the families of the 11 boys and three girls. They will be officially taken into the center's care if the search fails after a year. Of the 14 children, 11 suffer various levels of mental and physical disability.

"We will give them a thorough checkup, and help them rehabilitate. We will send them to nearby schools as soon as possible," said Fu Tianyue, director of the welfare center.

More than 20 children have been long-term residents of the help center, according to Liu Runhua, chief of the civil affairs bureau. One of children has stayed there for more than two years. "The center is only a temporary home for vagrants, with strict rules," Liu said. "We have sent three lots of children to the welfare center since 2002."

Editor: Yan