Body of baby dumped next to bin on Edenvale street
Tree of Hope thanked the community and its sponsors for their continued support and for never shaming the mothers the organisation helped.
Edenvale’s Tree of Hope expressed sadness and heartache when it came to light that a child had been dumped on the side of the road.
This happened on August 26 on the corner of Thirteenth Avenue and De Wet Street.
Because Bedfordview and Edenvale NEWS still awaits comment from the SAPS, the sex, age and details of how the child was dumped cannot be published.
According to the information the NEWS received, the baby had died.
ALSO READ: Help Edenvale Police identify body
To gain more information and create awareness of this matter, the NEWS spoke to Tree of Hope’s founders, Lelanie le Roux and Daniela Carstens-le Roux.
Le Roux said according to the information Tree of Hope received, the baby’s umbilical cord and outer sac were still attached.
She said no afterbirth or placenta was found at the scene.
“There was a black bag, dirty tissues, what appeared to be panties and a jacket which covered the baby near an open drain,” said Le Roux.
Because of this information, Le Roux and Carstens-le Roux believed the baby was a late-term abortion that possibly went wrong.
“The illegal abortion clinics are something we need to address in this country.
“In some instances, women will go for abortions when they are eight months pregnant,” said Le Roux.
She said many children helped by Tree of Hope were prematurely born because they were late-term abortions who survived.
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Carstens-le Roux said if a baby was prematurely born at seven and a half months, it did have a fighting chance.
Le Roux said when women went to illegal abortion clinics, they received the medication and were told it was their responsibility to dispose of the corpse.
Because there was no afterbirth, Carstens-le Roux believes the woman was a young mother.
Le Roux believed the body was dumped in such a manner because the child had died, and it was a late-term abortion.
“It’s a late-term abortion, so where do you go with it?
“Do you go to hospital and say you went into labour at home?” she asked.
Alternatively, Le Roux said the mother could be an illegal immigrant, her parents might not have known she was pregnant, or her community or local hospital shamed her.
“Hospitals often shame women who want to give their children up for adoption,” she said.
Highlighting the national problem, both women appealed to mothers considering abortions to rather not and instead use baby boxes, such as the one at Tree of Hope.
“As Tree of Hope, if a woman wants to give up her child but remain anonymous, we will protect her identity.
“We shouldn’t let our children die. They are our future,” said Le Roux.
ALSO READ: Help Edenvale police identify body
In some instances, Tree of Hope even reunites mothers who need time to stabilise financially, emotionally and mentally after giving birth.
It also provides support packages for mothers in need. These packages contain essentials for newborns and new moms donated by community members and businesses.
Tree of Hope thanked the community and its sponsors for their continued support and for never shaming the mothers the organisation helped.
The thanks went to Mamba, Emer-G-Med, Pakisa Holdings, Dunvegan Primary School, Karaglen SUPERSPAR, and the learners who offered their time to do community service at Tree of Hope.
A request for comment from the Ekurhuleni North District SAPS was sent on August 31 and to the Edenvale SAPS on September 6.
At the time of going to print, no comments were received.
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SAPS communication
Caxton Local Media and the Forum of Community Journalists (FCJ) recently raised an objection to a directive issued to police stations not allowing local SAPS spokespersons to communicate with local media.
“This jeopardises transparency and negatively impacts community journalists’ roles as community watchdogs and informing society.
“It is through the reportage of community journalists that communities often unite with local police officers in the fight against crime and join awareness campaigns to fight off social ills, organised crime and more,” said the FCJ executive director, Marietta Lombard.
