Fewer babies abandoned in Pta so far this year
The director of New BeginningZ said criminal procedures will be followed if mothers dumped their unwanted babies in dustbins, toilets, or leave them in the veld to die cold and alone.
Help is available for mothers who find themselves unable to look after their newborn babies.
New BeginningZ is an NGO established to assist struggling mothers to follow correct procedures and avoid abandoning their babies in public areas or dumping them in dustbins and toilets.
Director Tahiyya Hassim said the body advocated for safe abandonment.
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“We encourage desperate expecting girls/women to rather get in touch with someone in their area (social worker, counsellor, welfare organisation) but if they don’t want to do it in their area then feel free to approach any of the Child Protection Organisations in other areas,” she said.
Last year the Tshwane metro was hit by a scourge of abandoned babies during which New BeginningZ received a total of 28 babies.
“So far this year we have received 20 abandoned and already a total of 35 new intakes from January to September,” she said.
Some mothers said they opted for unsafe abandonment because of the negative treatment received from public clinics and hospitals.
Hassim said they always receive complaints from the mothers that most social workers and nurses at hospitals were judgemental.
She advised the mothers to report the matter to the clinic or hospital management.
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“They need to clearly stipulate the reasons for the complaint, name or surname of the staff member,” she said.
The NGO offers a variety of services including safety for children and the youth. It is also a crèche and provides after-care service, and services such as community assistance programmes, prevention and adoption assistance and others.
They have two baby walls in Sunnyside where desperate mothers can safely drop off their unwanted or unplanned babies.
One is at the corner of Mears (Steve Biko) and Jorrissen streets and the other can be found in Vos Street.
“Unsafe abandonment can and often does cause the death of the baby but that is why we need to educate people out there and make the necessary support and resources available to them in order for these little lives to be saved. Our baby walls are for mothers who really have no other alternative or other possible solution and as an absolute last resort.”
Hassim said there were organisations that will walk the road with these mothers, guide them and support them for as long as they needed.
She said criminal procedures will be followed if mothers dumped their unwanted babies in dustbins, toilets, or leave them in the veld to die cold and alone.
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