A man walking to work rescued a three-month-old baby who was dumped by the mother. Security guards were called to the scene by a passerby around the Verulam area, in the north of Durban in KwaZulu Natal (KZN). Speaking to Zimoja, shortly after the discovery of the baby, Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) spokesperson Prem Belram confirmed that the members of his team did find the dumped baby. "A man discovered the baby at the base of an embankment next to a stream in the vicinity of a soccer court while picking mangoes. A bag containing nappies, a bottle of milk and a pacifier was lying next to the child. A letter was found and it explained that she made contact with social workers twice but was let down by the system. The writer also also stated that abortion was not an option as it is no longer safe and hospitals have strict rules. She further requested that authorities be notified when the baby is located. The man then contacted his employer who requested RUSA to be called out to the scene," said Balram.
NO OPTION BUT TO DUMP THE BABY
The letter reads, " Hi, you might be wondering why I dumped my baby, don't wonder. Just help her if you can or call authorities but don't judge me. I have spoken with social workers they delaying to assist. I know this looks bad but I had no option the system is fragile and we can't even abort safely anymore, hospitals have strict rules," the letter reads.The security guards found dumped baby and alerted the department of social development in KZN. Their spokesman Mhlaba Memela confirmed that the matter was brought to their attention. "We can confirm that a three month old baby was found in Verulam this morning. The matter is new to the department and the local office was also not aware of this unfortunate incident. Equally, the office is also not aware of the allegations reported and mentioned in the letter. There is no record of a woman who came requesting any help from the social workers but denied assistance," said Memela.
COME FOR HELP
Memela further said that the department would continue to investigate the allegations made in the letter to ascertain what exactly the mother of the child had requested if she ever met with a social worker. "It's very disappointing that we still have people who opt to dump children like this. We urge our communities to always make contact with the department if they realise they are not able to take care of their children. A child can be placed on adoption, with the option to have a biological mother have full access to the child," he said. The department said it will keep the child until the situation of the mother gets better. "We want to urge the mother who dumped the child to come forward so she can be helped with any situation that might have led her to violate the rights of this child. We are happy that the child did not lose life but was rescued on time. We applaud those who find the child and alert those who rescued the child. We urge people to refrain from committing such a crime. The child is currently safe with Verulam Child Welfare and Family Society," he said.
