Abandoned baby given new chance at life

A newborn baby boy has been given a new lease on life after being discovered underneath a bathroom sink at i’langa Mall by two employees on Thursday August 12.

“We heard crying in the bathroom. We could hear it was a small baby and he was screaming from his belly. We first thought it might have been a phone or something until we spotted him under the sink,” said the i’langa Mall employees, Nokuthula Milazi and Thandi Dladla, who made the discovery and are being hailed heroes.

Milazi is a cleaner and Dladla works at a nearby store.

Relaying their story on how they found the baby, the duo told Lowvelder how shocked they were, but were happy he was at least left in a safe space.

Milazi said it had been close to 17:00 when she entered the bathroom near Woolworths to get changed before catching her bus home when she heard the baby crying.

“He was crying like he had been left on his own, but I could not see where this sound was coming from,” she said.
Meanwhile, Dladla, who was also getting ready to go home, had also entered the toilets and heard the crying.
“I came out of the toilet stall and saw Dladla. We started looking around for where this sound was coming from. Then Dladla looked right under one of the sinks and there was this little baby, pushed right to the back, under the sink.”

Milazi said the baby appeared to be a newborn and had been wrapped in a green hospital blanket.

“He only had a nappy on and we were worried he was cold and hungry. I was just so shocked. I was shaking and crying and asked Dladla to pick the baby up because I was too scared to hold him.”

Dladla then carefully reached under the basin and scooped the screaming baby up into her arms.

“As soon as I held him, he stopped screaming and crying. He seemed calm and he looked like he was healthy,” she said.  The pair immediately decided to take the baby to i’langa Centre Management. The team bought milk, clothes and blankets for the little boy.

“We called him Fred Langa Smit,” said Milazi with a smile.

“We put Fred as his first name because Fred, the centre manager, is the one who fed the baby milk, and Langa because he was found at the mall.”

She said mall management then called the police and CMR to take the matter further and to collect the abandoned baby.

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“I hope he is doing well. I hope one day I will get to see him again. He is a beautiful baby, and so cute,” said Milazi.  Pediatric Care Africa (PCA) was then contacted by CMR on Friday morning in the hopes of facilitating a move to a safe haven for the baby.

The PCA secretary, Surika van der Merwe, said after fetching the baby and taking him to a doctor for a thorough check-up, they gifted him with clothing, nappies, baby milk and things that little babies need to flourish. She said PCA would continue to assist him with medical care and baby food.

“We wish to thank the people who found him and those who played a role in looking after him before he was taken to the safe haven,” Van der Merwe said.

She said they were extremely grateful for the safe haven which are taking care of him now. “They are doing an amazing job. He is warm, fed and safe now. You are our heroes,” said Van der Merwe.

The healthy baby boy has since been taken to a safe haven in Middelburg where he will stay for three months should his mother wish to reach out and take him home. However, if the mom does not come to claim the little bundle within three months, he will then be put up for adoption.