A baby was found dumped in Somerset West.
The tragic discovery was made during the early hours of this morning (Thursday 27 October).
According to Sergeant Suzan Jantjies, spokesperson for the Somerset West police, authorities were called to the scene in Belvedere Road around 04:00 after an apparent bloody-stained plastic bag raised the concern of a security officer patrolling the area. Upon further inspection, the officer found the lifeless and naked infant, a fully developed baby boy, inside the carrier bag.
Somerset West police have opened an inquest docket after the discovery of the newborn, estimated to be around 12 weeks old, and are calling on anyone with information to reach out to the investigating officer, Detective Sergeant Berchille Allies, on 021 850 1344.
Sandy Immelman, founder of the Helderberg Baby Saver, expressed her dismay in light of the alleged dumping incident which occurred a mere stone’s throw from the Somerset West facility that acts as a last port of call for help and hope by enabling the safe abandonment of an unwanted baby.
“This tragic incident reaffirms how important it is that we continue to raise awareness about the Helderberg Baby Saver that is available for desperate folk as a last resort,” Immelman said.
The saver is a special safe built into the side wall of Choices Crisis Pregnancy Centre in Schapenberg Road and offers an option of safe relinquishment. When a baby is placed in the safe, an alarm is triggered and appointed respondents, including security officers and emergency personnel, collect the infant. The response is linked to child protection organisation Wandisa, which sees to the statutory processes.
The saver was launched in August 2014 and in September celebrated giving a 10th baby a chance at life. Following its establishment, the saver was used for the first time in October 2015, when Baby Ayabonga was placed in the special safe (“Baby named,” DistrictMail, 15 October 2015). The heart-warming success story was followed by another relinquishment in 2017 (“Newborn gets a chance at life,” 9 November 2017), two in 2018 (“Baby saver works again,” 26 April; “Fourth newborn benefits from ‘saver’, 4 October), one in 2019 (“Another cherub placed in ‘saver’, 11 July) and one last year. Four babies have been placed in the safe this year: Baby Ava (“Yet another baby saved,” 10 March), Baby Ruby (“Baba Ruby vorder goed,” 21 April), Baby Nathan (“Baby Nathan underscores ‘safe abandonment’, 1 June), and Baby Thabo (“A saving chance for baby boy,” 7 September).“Our saver is available 24 hours a day and is anonymous. Any baby placed in our saver is taken to the local hospital and placed in temporary safe care while legalities are completed,” explained Immelman.
She added that as a member of Baby Savers South Africa (BSSA), they will continue to fight for a child’s right to life. “We appeal to girls and women to access contraception and counselling when needed; to boys and men to respect women’s rights and reduce rape statistics in our country; and to families, communities and social workers to assist and empathise with regards to unwanted or crisis pregnancies – providing all options without judgement or bias. Lastly, if someone finds themselves desperate and considering dumping their baby, please rather turn to the baby saver for safe relinquishment and choose to give your baby a chance at life.”
For more information on the Helderberg Baby Saver, visit www.babysaver.co.za and www.babysaverssa.co.za.
