The Philisa Abafazi Bethu (PAB) baby saver centre in Steenberg was vandalised, dealing a blow to the organisation and residents during Child Protection Month.
The baby saver is a way for helpless and desperate mothers to safely relinquish their babies.
Once the child is safely “deposited”, an alarm alerts the organisation and a security company.
The metal container can only be opened from the inside of the house, and the child is immediately sent for medical care.
The baby drop was installed in response to a spate of babies being abandoned and in some cases found dead in Cape Town.
Speaking to the Cape Argus, Director of Philisa Abafazi Bethu, Lucinda Evans, said a young man from Retreat had walked past the baby saver and fiddled with the trigger switch.
The baby saver is installed at the Family Centre in Steenberg.
She said due to the cost of repairs, the building will be closed until further notice.
The repairs cost up to R3 000 and include welding on the door and a new sensor that they are unable to cover at this stage.
Evans has expressed her disgust at the vandalism.
“I’m sad that a grown man broke the door of this baby saver and it was done during Child Protection Month.
“We sit with issues of gender-based violence (GBV) and we have a man vandalising a baby saver, linked to GBV,” she said.
She said the organisation will be in desperate need for donations to repair the damage so that they can serve the community again.
More information about PAB can be found on their website at https://www.philisaabafazi.org/ or you can contact them at 021 565 0668.