Namibia: Swakopmund's Ruach Elohim Foundation Rescues 49 Babies, Urges National Safe Haven Awareness

A Swakopmund-Based organisation, Ruach Elohim Foundation, has safely received and rescued 49 babies since 2020, through the baby saver box raising concerns about a lack of national awareness on safe alternatives for mothers.

This comes after a 36-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly leaving her newborn baby at a church at Omungwelume in the Ohangwena region.

The topic has sparked debate on which places are lawfully considered safe havens for vulnerable mothers to surrender their babies.

Ruach Elohim founder Ronel Peters (53) says the facility operates the country's only baby saver box, providing a safe haven for unwanted babies.

"Since the inception of the first and only baby saver box in Namibia in 2020, altogether, 49 babies have been safely received through this life-saving box, 49 lives that could easily have been lost," Peters says.

She added that other babies have been brought at the foundation by the police and from hospitals, totaling to 140 babies.

She says the foundation works around the clock to care for vulnerable infants, including those with special needs requiring high medical costs.

"Our resources and time are limited, but still, we are trying our best to do awareness as well," she says.

Peters, however, raises concern over what she describes as a lack of visible national awareness efforts following the decriminalisation of baby abandonment in February 2019 under the Child Care and Protection Act.

"Yet, since the decriminalisation of baby abandonment in February 2019, there has been virtually no visible national awareness from the government to inform vulnerable mothers of safe alternatives," she says.

She adds that there have been no consistent nationwide campaigns or basic signage to guide mothers to safe options.

"The reality is this: many mothers do not abandon their babies out of cruelty but out of desperation and lack of knowledge. And that lack of knowledge is a systemic failure," Peters says.

According to her, responses to baby dumping cases in Namibia remain largely reactive, with public outrage only emerging after tragedies occur.

"Instead of proactive education and prevention, the response remains reactive.

When a tragedy occurs, it is met with outrage and sensational headlines, but where was the awareness before that moment?" she says.

Peters says the situation reflects a broader gap in policy implementation, arguing that simple preventative measures could save lives.

"We are faced with a painful contradiction. While millions are spent elsewhere, there are still no simple, visible measures in place to guide vulnerable mothers towards safe, life-saving choices," she says.

She stresses that the Child Care and Protection Act provides legal alternatives for mothers unable to care for their children.

"When a mother leaves a child with a responsible person or at a place of safety, such as a church, where the child is unharmed, the law recognises this as an act of protection, not a crime," Peters says.

She calls for a shift in how such cases are viewed, urging authorities to move from framing them as abandonment to recognising them as safe relinquishment.

"This mother chose life for her baby. By placing the child at a safe place, she ensured the infant was protected and could grow up in a secure environment," she says.

This article originally appeared on Namibian.