It’s a shocking statistic that an estimated 3500 babies are abandoned each year in South Africa, and to highlight this number, Impilo Child Protection and Adoption Services is launching a campaign to draw attention to this horrendous fact (and this relates to survivors only).
The organisation is embarking on a new campaign launching on 13 June 2019, where it has collected 3500 baby-grows to signify the enormity of this issue and to create awareness, increase support and build a dynamic network that will assist some of these children with the opportunity for a full and productive life.
As welfare is one of its key CSI focus areas, Macsteel’s support of Impilo, one of several organisations supported by the steel group, is closely aligned to the company’s CSI strategic approach to ensure that its corporate responsibility initiatives have a strong corporate citizenship component.
“Impilo exists to give these children a chance at growing up and having a better life. The timing is fitting for the NGO to unveil its new campaign as June is Child Protection Month and it marks Youth Day. This cause resonated strongly with Macsteel and we’re gratified that we are able to provide support via an annual grant and sponsorship for this specific event,” says Kim Allan, Macsteel’s Group Corporate Social Responsibility Manager.
She adds that more focus needs to be given to the cause of abandoned babies and children in light of the proposed amendments to the Children’s Amendment Bill of 2018 which has received widespread attention and strong criticism from all quarters of child protection civil society sectors.
The controversial changes were hastily pushed through by the Department of Social Development (DSD) without in-depth consultation with the adoption and child protection sectors and without due consideration of the impact on the vulnerable children the act is intended to protect. The amendments in their current format will unequivocally scupper the already declining number of adoptable children who find their way to a loving, adoptive family, exacerbating South Africa’s ballooning crisis of abandoned and vulnerable children left to languish in adoption homes.
“South Africa desperately needs to ensure that tomorrow’s children are given every opportunity to develop their emotional and intellectual skills and develop into individuals who can play a productive role in growing South Africa’s economy. We value the role that Impilo, and many other similar organisations are playing, and applaud them for their unrelenting commitment to abandoned children,” Allan concludes.
