BLOEMFONTEIN. – Almost every day we hear and read about children being dumped or neglected by their parents. Babies who do not deserve to be left alone in a dumpster with only a blanket. If only there was a safe place for mothers to leave their babies so that they can also grow up and become the persons they are meant to be.
A husband and wife have been opening their hearts and giving back by saving baby after baby in Bloemfontein. The Moses’ Ark Baby Saver Box in Bloemfontein was found by Deirdre and Daryll de Beer and has been operating since 30 June 2021 in partnership with Child Welfare. But what and how does the system work?
Speaking to Deidre she explains mothers will open the box, place the baby inside it and close the box. The people inside will then immediately be alerted through an electronic sensor that there is a baby in the box. The baby will be fetched, screened, treated if necessary and Childline will then start the legal process for temporary care.
“Moses’ Ark was born from a need we saw in our community, after hearing of babies being discarded and dumped after birth. The Moses’ Ark Baby Saver Box is an alternative to leaving a baby in a drain or rubbish dump, for mothers who, for any reason feel that they cannot raise their babies. These babies can be dropped off here.”
The idea for this initiative came from Namibia where there is a similar organisation like this one. Although their child abandonment laws are different to ours, they adapted operations to suit the situation in their community.
Looking at what they have done in their community it is easy to see that their motto – To save the baby and giving each baby an opportunity at life, making sure that whatever it is that God had placed within that child will not be lost, as every child has an assignment and purpose – has been present in their every day of living.
