Lolo Madonsela
The community of Bhekuzulu in New Location is reeling after a newborn baby was found dumped in a field near a pathway on Saturday morning.
According to Ward Councillor Letha Mhlongo, “A community member spotted the child in the field and saw a young woman running away. He gave chase and when he caught up with her, she said she did not want the child, referring to it as a ‘thing’, and said we should let her continue to sell her body”.
Police confirmed the incident and said the woman ran away. She was not caught and has still not been found.
Mhlongo urged the community and parents to ensure that they educate their children about having unprotected sex.
“We have classes in Ward 11 where Mam’Tholakele educates the youngsters about the implications of unprotected sex. She gives them guidance, whether virgins or not, even though she is running a virginity testing programme. Young girls need to make use of this. This is not just her responsibility; parents also need to take responsibility for educating their children and be supportive once a child has fallen pregnant, because their reaction to pregnancies also contributes to infants being dumped like this. We all need to join hands and fight teen pregnancy by ensuring education”, added Cllr Mhlongo.
Also read: Mother uses her body to shield month-old baby from #Vryheidfire
The community expressed shock and disgust at this incident, and some community members even requested that the child be given to them. “There are a lot of people who are dying to have children but cannot have them. Why didn’t she just give the child away instead of throwing him away like that? This is a newborn baby; you can tell that he was born today. There are social workers who can find a loving home for this child, but the mother was selfish and only thought of herself and about making money by being a prostitute.
“She was even proud that she was going to sell her body. Why didn’t she use contraceptives, since she knows she is a prostitute and does not want a child? Contraceptives are free at the clinic. She has disgraced us as women. She has given us a bad name as young women. I hope the police find and arrest her”, said one community member. Cllr Mhlongo said they could not be certain which area the woman was from, as she was “walking past Ward 11 going to Ward 20 and we are not sure which area she is from. We are not even sure if she is local; maybe she is from another area outside of Vryheid”.
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