Tim Baker playing with one of the children at Shepherd's Field. Photo: Zhang Zihan/GT

The moment the kids see Tim Baker, the 56-year-old American draws all their attention. "Tim baba, wo xiang ni," (I miss you, Daddy Tim) the older ones say, smiling, while the smaller kids who can't speak reach out to Tim, greeting him with waves and hugs. The tall, gray-haired man kneels down, hugs every kid, and smiles back while speaking in his American-style Chinese, "wo ye xiang ni, wo xiang ni hen duo" (I miss you, I miss you so much).

These kids, a majority of whom are disabled, are the orphans at Shepherd's Field, China's largest foreign-funded orphanage, which was founded by Baker in 2006. Since then, Shepherd's Field, which lies about 40 kilometers southeast of Beijing, has taken in around 3,000 disabled children and even raised money so these kids could have desperately needed surgical operations. Baker has helped around 900 orphans to find permanent families, including 500 from the orphanage.

Believing in hope

Aged from 8 months to 22 years old, 95 percent of the kids at Shepherd's Field have disabilities. They have been designated as being "at risk" or have special problems like heart disease, missing limbs or various forms of paralysis. Baker insists on using the phrase, "kids in special need" to describe them. Most of these children were abandoned by their parents after they were born, and were very weak when they first arrived at Shepherd's Field. However, Baker says that "whatever problems they have, we will accept them."

As a devoted Christian, Baker believes it's faith that drives him to help all these children.

He recalls how a boy who suffered from serious burns was rescued. "He had burns on 60 percent of his body, we took him to the local hospital, where they said the boy only had a 10 percent chance of survival," says Baker. In a firm, determined tone he continues, "I told the doctors I don't care about the money or the low odds of survival. So I took him to the Beijing Children's hospital which has the best burns unit in China; we tried everything, and the boy survived."

Baker runs the Philip Hayden Foundation, the foundation which manages Shepherd's Field. It is no easy job, yet his persistence and faith is always rewarded, as he noted when he founded the orphanage and it desperately needed donations. At that time, the burned boy's story was broadcast in the US. "Everyone was touched by the story and in the end we raised $268,000. So trust is the most important thing. We have to depend on our faith," he says.

A chunk of land for one yuan

Baker feels gratitude towards the Chinese government, due to a surprising act of generosity when Shepherd's Field was founded.

When Baker contacted the local authorities about buying five acres of land to build Shepherd's Field in 2003, he was hoping to buy it at 500,000 yuan (around $60,000 in 2003), which was half the market price.

However, the local official offered him a better deal than he expected: Before Tim could open his mouth, the official said, "How about 1 yuan?"

"I wasn't certain I'd heard him correctly when I first heard those words," Baker says. "That sounded like one yuan but that land was worth a million. Was that a way of saying a million? I glanced at my Chinese assistant and he confirmed it."

"'Take it Tim, take it! It's a great deal!' my assistant told me, so I took it."

Though the government did Baker a big favor in this case, very few Chinese families have adopted children from the Shepherd's Field. Although 500 kids from the orphanage were adopted by American, Canadian, English, Spanish and Dutch couples, only five of them found Chinese families. At first glance this corresponds with negative stereotypes prevalent on the Internet,  but Baker explains that it is because of conditions in China.

"These kids need special care. They need surgery, therapy, and need to be sent to special schools. Special equipment is also needed, just for their daily lives. Not every Chinese family can afford that," says Baker. "Also, in China, both parents usually work, which makes it hard to care for these children," he says.

"Public facilities are another issue, as many old houses in China don't have elevators. This, for kids in wheelchairs, is a big problem."

A dream for every child

Baker's rebellious past is at odds with his personality today. Born in 1957 in Wisconsin, Baker was the youngest of six children. However, drinking, fighting and cars formed key aspects of his early life.

After failing many classes in his first year of college, he dropped out and joined the navy. This triggered his asthma and nearly killed him. It was not until he met his wife Pam that he decided to go back to campus with her in 1980. In 1988 the Bakers came to China, where they developed an abiding fondness for China and the Chinese people. After Baker returned to the US for a master's degree in 1989, he returned to China soon afterwards. "My wife and I were teaching English at Beihang University. A few years later we heard there was an orphanage in Tianjin, so we went for a visit," Baker recalls. "[The orphans] totally changed our lives. The expression of longing in their eyes moved us, we just fell in love with them and wanted to do something to help," he says.

It wasn't until his assistant's death that the decision became clear. Philip Hayden, who had always helped Baker, passed away due to a heart condition at the age of 28, which made Baker realize life was short. So he quit his teaching job and established the Philip Hayden Foundation.

"Before this I used to focus on myself, on my own problems, on my own issues. But when I met these kids and saw they had so many things to overcome, but they were still the happiest kids on earth and were satisfied with what they had, I realized that my problems were trivial," says Baker. "Now I no longer focus on myself, I focus on them."

Kids come and go, while Baker stays. According to Baker, he has feelings of both happiness and sadness every time a kid is adopted. "[I'm] a little sad, but very happy," Baker says. "We had a kid adopted a few months ago. He had been here for more than eight years, so he became like my own son because I saw him every day. But I'm also very happy because I know the best place for him is with his adopted parents. This is the dream of every kid. This is their temporary family, but I always hope they can find permanent families."

Chinese you need:

Greet：问候 (wèn hòu)

Orphan：孤儿 (gū ér)

Orphanage：孤儿院 (gū ér yuàn)

Disability：缺陷 (quē xiàn)

Paralysis：瘫痪 (tān huàn)

Abandon：抛弃 (pāo qì)

Christian：基督徒 (jī dū tú)

Gratitude：感激 (gǎn jī)

Generosity：慷慨 (kāng kǎi)

Adopt：领养 (lǐng yǎng)

Wheelchair：轮椅 (lún yǐ)

Rebellious：反叛的 (fǎn pàn de)

Navy：海军 (hǎi jūn)

Asthma：哮喘 (xiào chuǎn)

Fondness：钟爱 (zhōng ài)