This article was recently published, with information concerning Baby Safe
BABY SAVED FROM RUBISH DUMP
Kobus Pretorius, Die Burger
Cape Town – An 8-month-old baby who was left for dead at a rubbish dump in Lotus River is recovering in hospital after being saved by a local resident. The baby was found on Monday at about 15:00 at a rubbish dump in the Phumlani Village informal settlement near Grassy Park. Her identity is unknown at this stage. An unidentified man who was dumping rubbish discovered the baby inside a sports bag and a black plastic bag when she started crying. According to Ian Leibowitz, police spokesperson for Grassy Park, the baby was treated for dehydration and diarrhea. She is recovering in
Victoria Hospital in Wynberg.
Call for an investigation
Zodwa Yosa, 21, who lives across from the rubbish dump, said on Tuesday she hadn’t seen anyone with the bag at the dump. “We never heard a baby crying before the man discovered her. She couldn’t have been lying there very long.”
Patric Solomons, director of Molo Songololo, an organization which focused on children’s rights, said on Tuesday they were very glad that the baby was found and would now be cared for.
”We hope there will be a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.”
Solomons said that pregnant women, especially young women, didn’t always get the support they needed.
Need for support
“There’s a great need for support for young mothers. People should know their rights and know what their options are.”
According to Samantha Waterhouse from the organization Rapcan, which promoted the rights and protection of children, there were various reasons why a mother would “throw away” her child.
”It could be personal, emotional or financial problems which drive a mother to the point where she abandons her child.”
According to her, a big problem was people having children when they were not ready. They couldn’t handle the responsibilities of parenthood.
Lack of good programs
“There aren’t any good programs to support parents, so they don’t know what to do or where to go.
”The State doesn’t have programs in place to improve the situation either.” Waterhouse said a lack of social workers also contributed to the problem.
Bethany O’Connor, director of Baby Safe, an organization in Fish Hoek which enabled mothers to leave their babies in a safe place, said they worked with pregnant women and provided postnatal support.
Baby Safe has a so-called “baby drop”, a place where a mother can anonymously, legally, safely and at any time of the day or night leave her baby if she didn’t want the child.
The container in which babies could be placed is located at the King of Kings Baptist church in Fish Hoek.
”The box has a computer system which sends a call to three different people as soon as a baby is placed in the box. These calls continue until someone responds.”
O’Connor said the box had been available for a year but had not been used yet.
-Die Burger