What happens when a baby is left in a box?
Inside South Africa's baby savers that government wants to get rid of.
In a landmark court case in South Africa, a mother leaves her newborn baby in a secure box designed for safe relinquishment. The box, installed in a registered place of safety or children's home, offers an anonymous and secure drop-off for mothers who see no other way out. The Box Saver Association (BSSA) operates these boxes, providing a last-resort alternative to unsafe dumping grounds where abandoned babies often perish.
Nadene Grabham, Operations Director and co-founder of BSSA, explains that when a baby arrives, it is immediately checked for medical conditions, examined, and cared for. Within 24 hours, a medical assessment is conducted, and the infant is referred to the Department of Social Development (DSD) and a child protection organization for further legal proceedings.
Despite the life-saving potential of these boxes, the primary challenge lies in the state's opposition. The Department of Social Development has deemed baby savers illegal, and they have been resisting offering the babies in their care to the shelters that have Baby Savers, leading to overcapacity and closures of smaller shelters.
Tahiyya Hassim, who runs New BeginningZ, highlights the difficulty of finding suitable registered and accredited baby homes and the challenges faced by Child and Youth Care Centres (CYCCs) in taking children under three years old. Additionally, nationality disputes arise when mothers are foreigners, leading to potential prosecution for abandonment or attempted murder.
However, for BSSA, the shared mission of saving babies and making a difference in their lives remains their primary focus.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
