Activists have launched a WhatsApp line to help despairing mothers thinking of abandoning their children. Thousands of children are abandoned each year and activists are drawing attention to their plight as Child Protection Week kicks off on Friday. "Some of the babies abandoned in public places are premature and sometimes even have the umbilical cord on them‚" said child protection activist Dee Blackie. The WhatsApp line will put mothers in touch with places of safety where they can leave their children. Last year‚ an estimated 2,830 children were abandoned in child care centres nationwide‚ according to research by the National Adoption Coalition. Gauteng registered the highest number at about 900. Two thirds of them died due to a variety of reasons. Activists released the statistics as part of an effort to rally government support. The coalition cited concern about the lack of data and statistics on abandoned babies‚ saying the state has no central data base that would give a holi...
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