US doctor gives disabled Shanxi orphans a fresh start

Father of six has helped about 1,000 disadvantaged children over 20 years of charity work

When Brent Johnson first arrived in Shanxi province in 1990 to study Chinese culture and history, it proved the start of a close bond with orphaned and disabled children there.

Then a junior at the University of South Carolina, he was enrolled at Shanxi University on a one-year student exchange program, during which he met his future wife, Serena, a fellow American who shares his affection for China.