{"id":75801,"date":"2017-11-27T12:25:00","date_gmt":"2017-11-27T10:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mobserver.co.za\/?p=75801"},"modified":"2017-11-27T15:47:28","modified_gmt":"2017-11-27T13:47:28","slug":"baby-safe-construction-begins-body-dumped-baby-girl-shook-community-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/news-headlines\/2017\/11\/27\/baby-safe-construction-begins-body-dumped-baby-girl-shook-community-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Baby safe construction begins after body of dumped baby girl forced community to act"},"content":{"rendered":"

Head Magistrate and Children’s Court Adjudicator Ms Sanet du Plessis and Project Manager Ms Frances Davies had the honours of taking the first dig at the spot where the baby safe<\/a> will be constructed on the church grounds.<\/p>\n

Sanet du Plessis and Francis Davies breaking ground where Middelburg’s first baby safe will be constructed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Read:\u00a0Baby girl found in refuse bin laid to rest<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
Reverend Kokkie Smit in the Garden of Remembrance of the St John’s Presbyterian Church where baby Madison will find a final resting place this coming Wednesday.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The spot is situated right next to where baby Madison’s ashes had been interred by the church<\/a>\u00a0following the baby girl’s discovery in a garden refuse bin in Joubert Street in July.<\/p>\n

Read: Our town’s first baby safe<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Apart from agreeing to afford the full term baby girl a final resting place in its Garden of Remembrance, St John’s<\/a> congregation also wholly agreed to name her Madison, meaning Gift of God.<\/p>\n

Read:\u00a0Please Help: Community urged to assist with choosing a name for girlchild in the refuse bin<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Emotional scenes as the body of a baby was found dumped in a rubbish bin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Baby Madison was the latest discovery in a spate of baby abandonment incidents plaguing Middelburg over a couple of years.<\/p>\n

Read: Not for sensitive readers –\u00a0Baby in the bin: Madison was a gift from God, will find final resting place on church grounds<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Her tiny body was discovered face down on a pile of rubbish, still snugly wrapped in her mother’s bloody nightgown. A woman looking for plastic bags found her and notified authorities.<\/p>\n

Read: Video shows how baby was dumped<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
Video footage shows how the baby was dumped next to a dumpster in John Magagula Street.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

She was destined for a pauper’s burial but Reverend Kokkie Smit and his congregation nobly stepped in.<\/p>\n

Little did he know that this gesture would pave the way for a unanimous vote by his church elders for Middelburg’s first baby safe<\/a> to be constructed on holy ground.<\/p>\n

Read:\u00a0Warning – graphic content: Five babies dumped in less then two months<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A dedicated committee comprising of social workers, the children’s court, local hospitals, ER24, volunteers and\u00a0www.mobserver.co.za<\/b><\/a>\u00a0toiled relentlessly behind the scenes to make the baby safe a reality.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
Baby X was discovered alive in 2014.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Read:\u00a0Update: Police finally make arrest after latest discovery of abandoned baby<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Residents who wish to contribute in any way can contact Ms Davies on 082 375 4997.<\/p>\n

Read:\u00a0New born baby found dead<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
The body of the full term baby girl being removed from next to the dumpster last Thursday.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Other news:<\/h3>\n

BREAKING: Dros up in flames<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Tow truck driver robbed next to road<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Policeman hijacked, shot whilst returning from crime scene<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Woman claims muti made her teeth fall out<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Watch: Miss South Africa crowned Miss Universe 2017<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Brian Molefe is lying about his ties to Gupta family, says Thuli Madonsela<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Want breaking news on the go?<\/h3>\n

Add us on WhatsApp. Save the Middelburg Observer standby number 072 248 3855 on your phone and send a WhatsApp message with the words \u201cAdd me\u201d to receive news links.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The groundbreaking ceremony for Middelburg’s first baby safe took place at St John’s Presbyterian Church, where the safe will be erected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5031,"featured_media":69494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"hasGravity":false,"cxt_article_byline":"Gerhard Rheeder","cxt_disable_google_ads":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,2],"tags":[9480,9478,9474,5477,9473,9472,9475,9476,21966,9477,9479],"class_list":["post-75801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news-headlines","tag-abortion","tag-adoption","tag-baby-abandonment","tag-baby-dumped","tag-baby-madison","tag-baby-safe","tag-fetus-found","tag-illegal-abortion","tag-middelburg","tag-what-to-do-with-baby","tag-where-to-go-for-abortion"],"category_labels":{"Category":"News","SubCategory":"Local news"},"tag_labels":["abortion","adoption","baby abandonment","baby dumped","baby madison","baby safe","fetus found","illegal abortion","middelburg","what to do with baby","where to go for abortion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}