Recently a photo circulated on social media of a baby left abandoned at the entrance of a stormwater drain.
The reaction understandably was shock and horror. Questions were even being asked if this photo was real, so disturbing it was in nature.
The reality soon dawned that this was indeed a baby left abandoned in the Eastern Cape. A newspaper in the area reported how the baby’s rescuer had to climb down a 2m deep duct – which was infested by a colony of red ants that bit his legs – and had to feel his way around for the crying newborn.
The rescuer, who had been driving past the scene, was flagged down by the woman who first heard the baby’s cries.
Yes, it is absolutely shocking that someone would leave a baby, helpless and exposed, under such conditions.
As a parent, who has cradled my defenceless son in his arms, I know what incredible care, love and attention are needed to keep such a baby healthy and happy.
I know how vulnerable a child is, how much nurturing they need and how they are absolutely 100 per cent reliant on the parent to survive and to grow.
Personally, I cannot for one moment even imagine taking such a child and placing it among ants and sewerage and then simply walking away.
But this is something that is happening regularly in South Africa.
Daily South African babies are abandoned in public dustbins, toilets, rivers, foster homes, parks and at the doorsteps of church buildings.
Child abandonment has sort of become a taboo subject. After all, they say the love a parent feels for their baby is infinite – a basic part of your make-up. The only love that is truly selfless, unconditional and forgiving.
Why then, does South Africa have one of the highest rates of infant abandonment in the world?
Reality is that according to the National Adoption Coalition of South Africa, there are increasing levels of risky abandonment.
Apparently, there are a number of reasons, some of them boils down to financial constraints. And so unemployed mothers find themselves seemingly in a desperate situation where they have no money or a home to take care of their newborn babies, and out of fear and helplessness, they abandon their babies.
According to Joburg Child Welfare statistics, about 3 500 babies were abandoned in 2010. That number has since decreased to 2 830.
Whatever the reality of numbers, babies are being tossed aside. I mean really, this is a life you are talking about. Someone who has been offered the opportunity to live, to know life, to experience life and yet we decide to snuff out that precious gift of living.
The subject is taboo because the thought is horrible how a mother could leave her defenceless child, but then again, the argument goes we must consider the heartache they must feel when they walk away or the agony of the decision to abandon the child.
This is a tricky issue, and we must keep in mind that abandonment and adoption are governed by Children’s Act 38 of 2005 – one of the largest pieces of legislation to be created under the new constitution in SA.
Consider also that relinquishing one’s parental rights so that a child can be adopted can only be done without a legal guardian’s consent from the age of 18 years, making this option inaccessible to teenage mothers.
So yes, many will cite their reasons for abandoning a child, and so the subject remains taboo if these are merely excuses or a legitimate justification of such an action.
Also, keep in mind that anonymous child abandonment has been criminalised, with mothers facing a range of charges such as concealment of birth and attempted murder.
Risky abandonment of babies has led to a number of organisations seeking to protect the defenceless ones. They offer mother’s an alternative – if you want to abandon, do it within a safe and protected environment.
For this reason, one has to applaud the efforts of the Kuselo Child and Youth Care Services Window of Hope project, based in Boksburg.
Kuselo Window of Hope provides hope and support to mothers who are not able to care for their babies.
They provide the Baby Saver Bin, where desperate mothers can place their babies in the bin. The bin has a sensor which triggers an alarm as soon as it is opened, to alert staff that a baby is possibly being deposited into the bin.
It is a sad state of affairs that we even need places like Kuselo, as no mother should ever be in a position to abandon her child, but they do provide an incredibly valuable service.
It will prevent, at least here in Boksburg, babies placed in dustbins and at entrances of stormwater drains.
Sadly, the plight of abandoned babies hangs like a cursed shadow over South Africa, and it is time that we all consider again the sanctity of life.
