AS the saying goes, "children are a gift from God" and they are blessings to families.
These precious little souls didn’t ask to be born. We made that possible.
Social challenges such as poverty and unemployment could be blamed for the abandonment of newborn babies by parents.
More and more newborn kids are being abandoned in hospitals, on the streets and in dumping sites after alleged home births by mothers.
Could there be a deeper explanation for this? What could lead one to such actions which many regard as inhumane?
According to Baby Savers South Africa (BSSA), every year more than 10 000 babies are abandoned in South Africa, with the majority of them being found dead.
Baby Savers South Africa is a national coalition of organisations working to put an end to unsafe infant abandonment.
BSSA found that teenage pregnancies and poverty are some of the main reasons why thousands of babies are abandoned nationally, yearly.
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A recent Daily Sun article couldn’t have painted a clearer picture on this issue.
On the 23 August, an article headlined ‘Dumped dead babies a nightmare ekasi!’ was a shocking read.
This is because residents were left shocked after finding two dumped dead babies in their kasi in a space of a day.
The shocking discoveries were made in Soshanguve Block P, Tshwane on 15 August and the other at Block HH in the same kasi.
According to a resident who saw the dumped baby at Block P, the baby was dumped on top of a pile of rubbish.
Another article published on 18 August, headlined ‘Shocking: Mara why, mama?, outlined that the cops were hunting for a mother who dumped her baby.
The body was found by a waste collector at a dumpsite in Ivory Park extension 2, Ekurhuleni on Thursday, 17 August.
The cops said the body was burnt and wrapped in white plastic when found.
What can we do as a society to put an end to such acts?
Most children’s non-government organisations share the same sentiments that not enough is being done to educate society about care centres for unwanted babies.
Lack of information has been pointed out as the cause of such actions.
Organisations such as Door of Hope are on a mission to receive unwanted babies, save their lives, and give them a chance at a better future.
