National Women’s Day, celebrated annually on 9 August, commemorates the 1956 march of approximately 20,000 women to the Union Buildings in Pretoria. In a four-part series, the Northglen News’s Danica Hansen chats to women who are making a difference in their communities. This week, we chat to Jo Teunissen, who cares for abandoned and orphaned babies at The Baby Home in Durban North.
“Adopting our son was honestly the most incredible, life changing thing not just for me, but for our entire family. We always thought that our little family was compete until he came into our lives and now we cannot imagine life without him,” said Teunissen, who was inspired to open The Baby Home almost five years ago after adopting her son.
“Our NGO, The Peace Agency had assisted us through the adoption process and we had learnt so much about adoption and baby homes. We decided we wanted to get more involved and help to make a difference,” explained Teunissen.
According to The Baby Home website, more than 3500 babies are abandoned in South Africa every year and adoptions have “ground to a halt”. Social taboos and a lack of information about adoption contribute to baby abandonment, said Teunissen.
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“I personally believe that there is not enough information available to birth mothers regarding adoption. Since dealing directly with birth mothers I have seen that one of their biggest fears is that they are going to be judged. The fear of being judged and the fact that so many mothers feel that they are totally alone leads to many babies being abandoned. If there was more information available and more understanding around what adoption involves, I think that mothers who feel helpless or desperate would be more willing to come forward to safely hand over their babies rather than choose an unsafe abandonment,” she said.
While giving a child up for adoption evokes fear for many mothers, finances are among several factors that deter couples from adopting babies.
“The biggest misconception about adoption is that you have to be wealthy or fit a certain social profile to be able to adopt. The reality is your race, gender or bank balance do not make you a good parent, what matters is whether you can provide that child with a safe loving home, where all of their basic needs are met,” said Teunissen.
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Another misconception, Teunissen addressed is the idea that places like The Baby Home are too sad to visit.
“People are nervous to come and visit because they think it is too depressing. You only need to come for one visit to see that this is not true. We are one of the happiest places in town and after spending time here you will definitely not leave feeling down, in fact you will want to come back for more fun and laughs,” she said.
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