Where can poverty-stricken pregnant women turn for assistance?
“NEWBORN dumped on sidewalk” and “Baby girl saved from deep drain”. These headlines have been in the news in the past few days in Durban.
Why do we, as a so-called civilised society, have to continue to read these heart-breaking stories? At the end of one article the paramedic states that she “urges all mothers to seek assistance!” Where from?
Have you ever tried to get hold of a municipal office, or the police? They never pick up the phone, so who exactly are the people these mothers must go to for help? These are poverty-stricken women who do not have the luxury of access to the internet, let alone a welfare office.
And is there a list of social welfare workers they could perhaps be referred to?
If so, where can they find such a list? There used to be a home for unmarried mothers in Windermere Road back in the seventies. It helped many pregnant mothers decide what to do when they found they could not get help from their family or the father of the child.
This was closed down years ago, post 1994. One can only ask why? Who made this dreadful decision?
There are many homes for abandoned babies, children with Aids and orphans, but nothing for mothers in this serious predicament, with no one to turn to.
We have been trying to get an answer from the Department of Public Works and the municipality as to the future of the Star Seaside home in North Beach.
For over five years this building has been standing empty, now derelict and possible going to be demolished. But five years ago we asked to rent a few rooms to use as a safe haven for women in distress who would have no alternative but to throw their baby away.
The answer was always the same – it’s still under negotiation as to who is responsible for the building and what is going to happen to it.
What about the building that is standing empty in Bulwer Park since the day it was completed?
While the powers that be fight over who is going to be responsible for it, and someone got rich building it, this could have been used to offer refuge.
We cannot continue to live in this city and turn our heads away and pretend this tragedy does not exist. If you would like to help, please SMS us on 0784784878. N FOSTER | Durban