Community saves abandoned baby

“Someone help! There’s a baby lying in the rubbish.” These were the words Karlene Frazenburg heard on her way to work.

Martha Frazenburg says her elder daughter was going to work before 06:00 on Wednesday, 16 September when she heard the woman shouting. She immediately rushed home to tell her mom a woman had found a baby lying in a pile of rubbish in Greenfield.

When Martha got to the scene, she found a 25-year-old woman holding the newborn baby covered with her jacket. Martha asked to check the baby and to her surprise, the umbilical cord was still attached. Martha’s younger daughter, Meisie, brought a towel to wrap the baby girl in and some milk to feed her.

According to Martha, the homeless woman found the baby when she was going to get a change of clothing just behind the dumping site.
“She heard a soft cry and thought it was a cat, but as she went closer, she saw the baby kicking and shouting for help,” she said.

Martha suspects the mother had given birth at the dumping site around 05:00, as the woman had found her before 06:00. The baby was still covered in blood and there was a trail of blood from where she was found. The baby was lying under some stones and had a wound on her left arm.
Till today, the thought of the incident brings tears to her eyes. “I’m so heartbroken; I couldn’t even sleep that evening.
“I’m just so relieved that she was still alive when we found her,” said Martha.

According to Meisie, her mother talked in her sleep and said, “Please don’t die, please don’t die.”

The Frazenburgs and community members nursed the baby until the police and ambulance came. Nuku Rebecca Sephiphi, a community member, was at home, getting her child ready for school when she heard people screaming. When she went outside, she found a group around the baby at the dumping site. “I’m broken-hearted about what happened; the mother could’ve come to us and asked for help after giving birth,” she said. She advises women who may not want their children to take them to the hospital, where they can get the necessary help to give their children up for adoption.

Sgt Kelebogile Trom, the police spokesperson, says the baby was taken to the Potchefstroom Hospital for medical attention.

She confirms that they are investigating a case of child abandonment, but no suspects have yet been arrested. After the incident, Martha took the 25-year-old woman into her home until things get better for her.