The Rauch Elohim Foundation has employed a social worker to support the Baby Saver Box initiative, following a donation from Rossing Uranium.

The Rossing Foundation gave N$350,000 to enhance the impact of the initiative on baby dumping.

As a way to curb rampant baby dumping in Namibia, the Baby Saver Box is a place where despondent mothers may anonymously and safely leave their babies, rather than abandon them in an unsafe manner.

Ronel Peters and her husband opened their house in Ocean View Swakopmund to accommodate any babies dropped off.

"Since we started this programme in 2018, when we opened up our house for abandoned babies, we were registered as a place of safety, and we had more than 60 babies that went through our house. 23 of these babies came through our baby saver box."

In the first year, she recalls, only one mother left her baby in the box. 

Peters believes the increased frequency over the years came about when the government passed legislation not to prosecute women who abandon their children.

"People would send me notifications from social media, another baby was dumped, another baby was found, and I saw that it became normal, it became normal for people, it became an everyday thing, it's like the petrol price increase. At first, we were very upset, but then it became normal, and we accepted it, and we just went on, and that is why we have sharpened our awareness aggressively because we wanted mothers to stop dumping." 

Rossing Foundation's recent donation will ensure that more awareness is created, and a designated social worker will also be hired for the next two years.

The social worker will deal with, among others, the adoption process of the children and the counselling of the mothers.

"Part one will be her salary, which is very important to us because now our babies have a chance to have life, and now they also get a chance to have parents and to be adopted into a forever loving family, a forever loving family who previously were barren and could not have children. Now they can also adopt from us. We can never stop doing awareness, and unfortunately, awareness costs money. It takes time and a lot of effort, and we are willing to do that as long as we can. Through awareness, keep saving the lives of babies and keep helping out desperate mothers in desperate situations." 

Peters revealed that the initiative has expanded and now takes care of children with special needs. 

After numerous requests from mothers with disabled children in parts of the country, Peters realised the women needed support because they were unemployed.

She calls on women in desperate situations not to dump their babies, as the children can all be saved through the box initiative.