Hundreds attempt to adopt baby found in bin
The baby was found in a bin wrapped in a denim dress in Verulam, north of Durban.
A Verulam based private security company, who were alerted to the cries of a newborn baby in a bin on Monday, said they have been inundated with calls to adopt the baby.
Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) said they had received more than 420 phone calls and social media enquiries from members of the public wanting to adopt the baby boy who was found wrapped in a denim dress, with the umbilical cord still attached.
“Several emails were also received from the USA, London, Portugal and other parts of Europe offering to adopt the baby. RUSA will be directing all enquiries to the social worker allocated this case,” RUSA said in a post on their Facebook page.
However, Joanne Teunissen who runs the Durban North Baby Home in Glenhills said prospective adoptive parents cannot ‘shop’ for a baby.
“People wanting to adopt a baby, cannot decide which baby they want to adopt. They have to go through an adoption accredited social worker who will screen the parents. Their names then go onto an adoption register. You can’t go to a social worker and choose the baby you want to adopt, this is considered ‘shopping’” she said.
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According to the National Adoption Coalition of South Africa (NACSA) the only way in which you can legally adopt a child is by working through an accredited adoption agency, or with the assistance of an adoption social worker functioning within the statutory accredited adoption system.
On their website NACSA said: “Adoption agencies are often criticised for ‘all the red tape’ or ‘making applicants jump through too many hoops’. But if one considers that in most cases the social worker is completely responsible for making a decision about a child’s future, the involved process becomes a necessity to ensure that the right parent(s) is/are chosen for every child – the parent(s) that will provide the specific child in question with the best possible home and family.”
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The Durban North Baby Home, cares for babies and toddlers between the age of 0 and four, and children with special needs is a project of the Peace Agency, a registered NPO and PBO.
Contact Joanne on 082 773 0781 or via email on jo@peaceagency.org.za if you or anyone else you know needs help regarding adoption.
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