Grade 12 learner discovers abandoned newborn in Bushbuckridge

A 19-year-old Grade 12 learner of Bushbuckridge became a hero when she saved the life of a newborn baby on Thursday March 3. Natasha Malinda was on her way to school for her afternoon classes when she saw a naked baby in the bush next to the path. “I was walking from home in College View to school, when I heard a child crying. When I got closer, I found it was a baby. He was lying there with the umbilical cord tied up with wool. I called the police, who immediately arrived. They permitted me to hold the child. We went to the police station to give a statement, and later to the hospital, where the child was found to be in good health,” said Natasha. She said over the past few days she had been praised as a hero, but it all changed over the weekend when some of the nurses chased her away. “All I wanted was to just see the baby. I developed strong feelings for him, and we have managed to bond in a short space of time. I even named him Lufuno, which means ‘love’ in Venda,” she said.

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With that in mind, some psychologists believe that Natasha needs serious counselling, as the situation has negatively affected her. A University of Mpumalanga psychology lecturer, Dr Rudzani Mhlari, said the fact that the young girl managed to bond with the baby so soon was a sign that something was wrong. “She is not the biological mother, and only 19, so the question is why had she bonded with the child so quickly? It might happen that she has lost a child or that someone close to her did. Counselling will definitely help this girl,” said Mhlari. She believes there is a lot behind Natasha’s action. “It seems the whole incident has triggered something in her,” said Mhlari. Natasha said she had lost some family members in the past, but they had not been that close. “I got attached to the baby because of the situation in which I found him, and I don’t think I need counselling for that,” she explained.

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However, she said she may reconsider counselling in future, but for the time being, all she wants is for the baby to be safe. The spokesperson for the Mpumalanga Department of Health, Dumisani Malamule, said the child was doing well in hospital. He said the child was kept at the hospital’s nursery school. A provincial police spokesperson, Brig Selvy Mohlala, said a case of concealment of birth has been opened while investigators try to trace the mother of the baby. “We are pleading with the members of the public to assist us in locating the mother of the baby,” he said.