The Norwich couple who've helped more than a million Chinese orphans find families

  • Watch a report by ITV News Anglia's Emily Knight

A former Norwich City youth footballer who founded a charity placing orphans in China with families there is the subject of a new television documentary.

Robert Glover moved to Shanghai in 1998 with his wife Elizabeth and their six young children to set up and run the charity Care for Children. 

An orphanage in China Credit: 'Children of Shanghai', Sky Documentaries.

Now their story has been made into a documentary to be broadcast on International Children's Day (1st June) for Sky Documentaries.

Robert who has a background in social work and foster care was invited by the Chinese Government to help them find an alternative to orphanages. It would be the first time they had heard of Foster care in China.

Robert based himself in one of the orphanages, but said it was difficult to make a breakthrough with staff and officials there.

But it was his experience as a youth player for Norwich City which eventually made a difference and the officials started to take notice.

  • Watch an interview with Robert and Elizabeth about the creation of the 'Shanghai Canaries' football team.

  • Watch an interview with Robert and Elizabeth about some of the children they've helped.

More than two decades later and the Charity's work has expanded, with its family placements scheme running in Thailand and Vietnam with Cambodia due to join this year.

In 2019 a UN declaration was made to phase out orphanages in favour of family placements. Recognition of the charity's belief that children do much better growing up in a family.