A teenage mother has abandoned her one-year-old toddler because the child no longer fits into her lifestyle.
Thobeka (not her real name), a 19-year-old high school dropout, left the child with neighbours in Sophiatown informal settlement in Thembisa, Ekurhuleni, on Saturday morning, promising to return after an errand.
She never did.
She left a note explaining why she abandoned her son.
This was the second time in three weeks that the teenager had abandoned her baby.
Community volunteer Alice Godlolo called the police when the teenage mother failed to return as promised.
The child was taken to Thembisa Hospital on Monday, where he is being cared for while authorities decided what to do.
In a note in isiXhosa, Thobeka states: "The life I am going to live is not proper for a child."
The teenager reveals that she is still angry with her mother and other relatives for stopping her from having an abortion when she was three months pregnant.
"Remember, I wanted to have an abortion but you said I should not," she continued.
She says explicitly that her mother should not get custody of the toddler. Instead she wants him to be given up for adoption.
The teenager's mother told Sowetan her relationship with Thobeka was strained. She said the run-away mother had threatened to "throw the child down the drain" if forced to keep it.
"She has always threatened to kill herself and the baby. There have been times when I thought she would actually do it," she said.
She said continuous fighting between her and her boyfriend might have caused Thobeka to run away.
"There is a lot of fighting at home. I don't have a good relationship with my boyfriend."
Gauteng health and social development spokesperson Mandla Sidu said mothers who were unable to care for their children should find other options and not discard them.
"They can drop the children off at children's homes. If there is anyone who wants to care for the child they can also approach our social workers who will then institute investigations into the circumstances of the child," Sidu said.
Another child aged between one and three months was discovered in Mayibuye section of Thembisa.
Rabie Ridge police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Cedric Mphahlele, said they handled five to six cases of abandoned children a month. He said this may have to do with the proximity of the station to a waste dump where babies are sometimes abandoned.
Mom dumps baby
A teenage mother has abandoned her one-year-old toddler because the child no longer fits into her lifestyle.
Thobeka (not her real name), a 19-year-old high school dropout, left the child with neighbours in Sophiatown informal settlement in Thembisa, Ekurhuleni, on Saturday morning, promising to return after an errand.
She never did.
She left a note explaining why she abandoned her son.
This was the second time in three weeks that the teenager had abandoned her baby.
Community volunteer Alice Godlolo called the police when the teenage mother failed to return as promised.
The child was taken to Thembisa Hospital on Monday, where he is being cared for while authorities decided what to do.
In a note in isiXhosa, Thobeka states: "The life I am going to live is not proper for a child."
The teenager reveals that she is still angry with her mother and other relatives for stopping her from having an abortion when she was three months pregnant.
"Remember, I wanted to have an abortion but you said I should not," she continued.
She says explicitly that her mother should not get custody of the toddler. Instead she wants him to be given up for adoption.
The teenager's mother told Sowetan her relationship with Thobeka was strained. She said the run-away mother had threatened to "throw the child down the drain" if forced to keep it.
"She has always threatened to kill herself and the baby. There have been times when I thought she would actually do it," she said.
She said continuous fighting between her and her boyfriend might have caused Thobeka to run away.
"There is a lot of fighting at home. I don't have a good relationship with my boyfriend."
Gauteng health and social development spokesperson Mandla Sidu said mothers who were unable to care for their children should find other options and not discard them.
"They can drop the children off at children's homes. If there is anyone who wants to care for the child they can also approach our social workers who will then institute investigations into the circumstances of the child," Sidu said.
Another child aged between one and three months was discovered in Mayibuye section of Thembisa.
Rabie Ridge police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Cedric Mphahlele, said they handled five to six cases of abandoned children a month. He said this may have to do with the proximity of the station to a waste dump where babies are sometimes abandoned.
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