OrphanCare continues saving more babies despite setbacks

JOHOR BAHRU: Nothing is more heartbreaking than reading about baby abandonment, with most of them being found in garbage disposal areas, sewerage systems, toilets, and drains.

OrphanCare Foundation, a Kuala Lumpur-based nongovernmental organisation (NGO), has come up with a counter-intuitive strategy, by setting up baby hatches across the country, with the hope to reduce instances of unsafe abandonment of babies.

The issue is very close to the heart of OrphanCare Foundation, which has a branch here, as it has been the ‘core’ of their establishment 10 years ago, to give a chance to babies to live and grow up in a loving family environment.

Its chief executive officer Datin Paduka Che Asmah Ibrahim explained that baby abandonment statistics in the country have shown an increase to more than 100 cases a year.

“Our mission is to reduce instances of unsafe abandonment of babies in unsafe places such as rubbish bins, bus stations and so on. The chance for the baby to live is very slim, (estimated) 50 per cent of the babies were found dead and could not be saved,” she told Bernama in an interview via video call, here, recently.

The foundation was established to help save abandoned babies through the baby hatch, as well as to help expectant mothers who are unable to look after their children, where a baby can be deposited at baby hatch, with the adults maintaining anonymity.

“At OrphanCare we also provide counselling assistance to expectant mothers who come to us for help. So, we hope that, with the existence of this baby hatch, can provide a temporary solution to mothers who need assistance.

“If the mother comes to us, we will give priority to saving the baby’s life,” she said.

As soon as the babies are received in the baby hatch, they will be taken directly to hospital for further examination because there are also babies who are placed in the box still with an umbilical cord attached, with a small note.

“I want to make it clear that placing your baby in a baby hatch is not a crime, but is to save it. Therefore, I really hope that if mothers are determined to hand over their babies at OrphanCare, it is best to leave a contact number to facilitate the registration of baby birth certificates for their future so that they have legal citizenship,” she said.

This is because, babies received through baby hatch often have difficulties in being registered as a citizen, as some biological mothers do not leave important details about the baby’s birth.

She also revealed that, after undergoing the counselling process, there are some mothers who decide to look after their babies.

“If the mother has placed the baby in the baby hatch and wants to reclaim it, we will ask for a police report and a DNA test to confirm the relationship between mother and child for authenticity,” she explained.

Since its establishment in 2010, OrphanCare Foundation has three branches that have baby hatches – in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Johor Bahru, Johor and Sungai Petani, Kedah – besides collaborating with several KPJ Specialist Hospitals including KPJ Damansara, KPJ Johor, KPJ Ipoh, KPJ Seremban, KPJ Tawakal, KPJ Perdana and KPJ Penang.

To date, the foundation has saved the lives of 437 babies with 267 of them being adopted, 158 babies being cared for by their biological mothers, while 12 babies have been referred to the Social Welfare Department (JKM).

“From January to December 2020, a total of 45 babies were rescued and cared for by OrphanCare. These cases involve nine babies from baby hatches and 36 cases of babies from walk-in biological mothers - expectant mothers who come to seek protection and help from OrphanCare,” said Che Asmah.

She said that the baby hatches are air-conditioned, safe and have a 24-hour CCTV and sensor inside that notifies the caretaker when a baby is deposited in the hatch. The camera does not identify the mother.

As OrphanCare Foundation is a non-profit entity, it desperately needs funds for the purpose of hiring staff to handle adoption cases, including providing training to employees who manage mothers, babies and adoptive families.

“OrphanCare also has plans to add more baby hatches but operating costs are among the main constraints. Hence, we think if OrphanCare can work with government hospitals to place baby hatches, it will be a good move as government hospitals have skilled staff to manage these babies,” she added.

Although the existence of the baby hatches has often received criticism from the community, it can be overcome once the community begin to realise that its main purpose is to save the baby’s life and not to encourage pre-marital sex as alleged by some quarters.

Therefore, she said that cooperation and understanding among members of the community is crucial, so that these cases of baby abandonment can be addressed together. – Bernama