NOVEMBER is World Adoption Month and for Glen Anil’s Jo Teunissen, it means a time to continue changing lives one baby at a time.
The founder of The Baby Home Durban North, a place of safety that cares for abandoned or orphaned babies and babies given up for adoption, says working with children is something that has always been close to her heart. She said she founded the home in 2015 after she and her husband had adopted a child of their own.
“Almost nine years ago, we adopted our son. I didn’t know much about adoption when I came into it; I’d just met a little boy and realised that he was adoptable, we fell in love and it started from there. The baby home runs under the Peace Agency. They assisted me with the adoption, and through that, I learnt so much about adoption and realised that I was actually an advocate for adoption.
“I think very few people consider adoption as their first choice for starting a family, and there are just so many babies that are in need. For me, I wish people would consider it as a plan A, instead of it being their plan B if things don’t work out,” said Jo.
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The former teacher says the home works very closely with Child Welfare in terms of them bringing the babies to the home and facilitating adoption.
“All of our babies are placed with us through Durban Child Welfare. Each child is allocated their own social worker, and all social workers are adoption-accredited.
“They are the ones doing all the hard work in the background, like finding homes for the babies and matching the babies to families.”
Asked how she finds a balance between her personal life and the baby home, Jo said the baby home is where she finds solace when she needs a break.
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“When I need a break, I go to the baby home. The baby home is honestly my happy place. When I’ve had a bad day with completely unrelated things, and I want to de-stress from something, my go-to place is straight onto the floor at the baby home so I can play and have cuddles,” she said.
Sharm Malherbe, mother to two adopted children, said she got her girls when they were young – one was only four months old, and the second one joined their family when she was just over a year old.
“It’s the best thing that’s ever happened in our lives. Our entire family was just meant to be; we were meant to meet each other, and we wouldn’t be complete without them,” she said.
Jo said they rely on the public for assistance with their needs. She says when people are moving house and throwing away toys, they take them; they also take donations of edibles, wet wipes and formula.
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“I think another important thing for us is the people who are willing to give their time and spend it with the babies. We also appreciate help from people with expertise because sometimes, I will get a baby who needs to see a specialist, and having a portfolio of people I can call is important.
“For our work, word-of-mouth is also an important thing as we always say that it’s a Durban North baby home, and we want it to be a community home.
“The more people know about us, the more people will talk about us when we have a fundraiser coming up, or if we have a baby who needs something specific and we need help with that.”
Jo said the baby home is currently preparing for a family Christmas carol fundraiser concert, Christmas for a Cause, that is set to take place on December 17 and 18.
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