Not always a happy New Year for children
The festive season is a strange time at Boksburg Child Welfare - the calm before the storm, said assistant director Vanessa Naidoo-Pillay.
She knows that when they reopen in January, there will be an influx of abandoned babies, domestic violence cases and homeless people who need help.
“Our offices aren’t very busy at the moment. This is because many of our clients are making plans for the holiday period, looking forward to spending their bonuses and leaving the province to visit family. Everyone is, generally, in a good mood.
“This, however, is not the case in January when it’s back to reality.”
Unbelievably, Naidoo-Pillay said many single moms leave their babies or toddlers with elderly caregivers, like a neighbour, over the festive season, saying they’re going out of the province to visit family and will be back in a day or two … but they never return.
“We have a case of a mom who did this two years ago and while we’ve managed to speak to her on the phone and she promised to return for her child, she never has.
“Sometimes it is single moms who have met another man and they don’t want him to know they have a child so they just abandon the child.
“Domestic abuse cases are high after the festive period because January is a tough month financially and people just can’t cope because of their Christmas spending. We’ve even witnessed this domestic violence unfold in front of our eyes in our office and had to phone the police to intervene,” Naidoo-Pillay said.
In light of the above, Boksburg Child Welfare is appealing for donations to help them cope in 2018:
- Baby formula
- Baby clothes and blankets
- Non-perishable food stuffs
- Personal hygiene products
Their Christmas wish list for the CBD, Reiger Park and Vosloorus offices includes:
- New office furniture (desks, chairs, cabinets).
- Secondhand lounge suites, in good condition.
- Children’s furniture (plastic tables and chairs, bean bags, etc.).
- Indoor plants.
- Wall hangings.
All these items will go a long way in making the offices more welcoming for the many people who come through their doors for help, all year round.
Critically, Boksburg Child Welfare also needs to get its landline phones up and running at all three of the offices, and is appealing to anyone who can help with this to contact them.
If you can help, contact Vanessa Naidoo-Pillay on 011 039 4679 or nesnaidoo@yahoo.com
