New uMlazi baby home on the cards

THE Peace Agency, a non-profit organisation has announced its intention to establish a new Baby Home in uMlazi, to meet the ever-growing need for registered childcare facilities.

It’s estimated that at least 3 500 babies are abandoned in South Africa every year, with KwaZulu-Natal experiencing a disproportionately high number of incidents.

Northglen News recently spoke to The Baby Home’s Jo Teunissen, who said she was excited about the new venture.

“When Justin Foxton (founder of the Peace Agency) said the intention was to open another baby home, I welcomed it because we need to provide a caring, restorative space for babies. We chose uMlazi because, Aunty Eunice (Eunice Khumalo) lives in the area and would head up the home. She has been with the Peace Agency since its inception and has been our most senior care giver. We felt this was a beautiful way to empower her.

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“We also hope in time the home will become a training facility to help other women in the community and have Eunice train them. These women provide an invaluable service to the community, acting as surrogate mothers to vulnerable children on a daily basis. At this point we are still identifying a home in uMlazi to purchase that’s easily accessible for volunteers and visitors alike. We really will be starting from scratch when we open up and we’ll need a number of items for the home. We really hope the community will get behind us because our goal is to increase adoptions in the province,” she said.

Foxton echoed Teunissen’s thoughts saying: “The reality is that a disproportionately low number of babies are adopted annually, yet the number of children seeking a loving home, rises steadily. The opening of our uMlazi Baby Home will assist in meeting this need, by providing a caring, restorative space for babies traumatised by the most horrendous experiences. We will also continue to lobby for increased adoptions in the province in an effort to provide these children with a secure, loving forever home as quickly as possible,” he said.

To find out how you can help, visit the www.peaceagency.org.za for more information.

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