On Sunday afternoon, Avril Davids of Mitchells Plain’s Tafelsig West Neighbourhood Watch was called by her daughter, Tracey-Lee Adams, who informed her of a five-month-old boy who had been left in a neighbour’s driveway.
According to Avril, a young woman holding the baby asked Tracey-Lee for water just before the child was abandoned.
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Avril told IOL that Tracey-Lee had seen two young women walking back and forth with an infant in a nearby park on Ararat Street, Tafelsig.
‘My daughter, Tracey-Lee, was visiting a neighbour on Ararat Street [in Tafelsig] when she noticed two young women walking up and down with a baby in the park,’ she explained.
The women reportedly approached Tracey-Lee, asking for water for the baby. Sensing their need, she offered them water, which they poured into the baby bottle. She even enquired if they would prefer lukewarm water, but they declined, stating they were waiting for a ride.
As Tracey-Lee went inside to fetch the water, she lost sight of the two women, only to hear cries coming from the corner of their driveway when she returned. She immediately informed her mother, Avril, of the situation. The pair rushed to the source of the cries and discovered the baby boy, approximately five months old, concealed under a red baby bag, wrapped in newspaper and a plastic bag.
‘She picked the baby up, and I contacted the neighbourhood watch and SAPS,’ Avril said.
After arriving at the scene, the police explained that they couldn’t intervene directly and needed to involve social services in such cases. Despite the initial setback, the community rallied together, offering support and supplies for the baby.
‘The community immediately started to come together; one bought a dummy [pacifier], my mother gave the baby butternut and potato, I got clean clothes and Infacare from a neighbour, and I sat with “Sipho”, feeding him after he was cleaned.’
The group discovered a birth certificate inside the bag, indicating the mother’s age as 19. Though they speculated that it might belong to the baby’s mother, they left it in the hands of the SAPS for further investigation.
Avril expressed immense gratitude for the fortunate timing of the rescue, as the baby was left out in the rain and freezing cold.
‘At the moment, we’re just thankful we managed to get the baby because, at the time he was abandoned, it was raining and ice-cold outside,’ Avril said.
She added that her heart broke contemplating how someone could abandon their child in such circumstances.
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Picture: Omar Lopez / Unsplash