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The Joburg Metro Police Department's Outreach Officers and the Public Safety Communication and Marketing unit visited the Door of Hope orphanage in Glenanda, south of Johannesburg, on Sunday 15 March 2020.
As soon as the group arrived in the morning, they got down to work and assisted the orphanage staff to bath babies, feed and play with them. The shelters caters for abandoned new-born babies.
The Door of Hope uses a system called the 'Baby Box', which ensures that unwanted babies are placed at the centre's door in a special box that has a blanket to keep the baby warm instead of being dumped in dustbins. Some of the children have been left in the Baby Box with their birth certificates, the centre's management says.
On average, Door of Hope receives nine babies a month not only through Baby Boxes but at times via the police or hospitals. Child abandonment continues to be a major challenge in South Africa. Every year, it is estimated that 3,500 children are abandoned, and this figure refers only to the children who survive. Of these survivors, 90% are under the age of one.
Door of Hope provides the orphans with a warm and safe environment needed by a growing child. Some of these babies are placed in the Baby Box only a few hours old. The babies are not permanent inhabitants of the orphanage as they move on when they grow older while others go to tertiary institutions; some find employment while others are reintegrated into families.
Anyone who is interested in visiting this Door of Hope or wants to know about the adoption process may call 011 484 9930 for more information. – Written by Nomasonto Manyehlisa
