On a continent ravaged by HIV-AIDS, in a country supporting more than 14% of all the people infected with virus, the socio-economic effects continue to cause a great amount of turmoil. Sadly it is not only the tragically infected people that have their lives disrupted, the ripples into the lives of those around them create an even more devastating picture.
Many women in our society are weakened by the HI virus, and significant numbers of these ladies become pregnant before finding out that they are infected. In this situation mothers often deliver their babies prematurely, and are ill-equipped to provide for or cope with a fragile infant who often requires a lot of care and attention, at a time when the mother herself is in need of care. Faced with few alternatives, these mothers often abscond from the hospital after delivering their baby, and do not return. Many of these abandoned infants are referred to TLC, where we do our utmost to ensure that each one receives the love, care and attention they require.
Unfortunately, this is just the one of many scenarios which culminate in a baby who needs our help. Some parents give consent for their children to be placed with an adoptive family, because they simply do not have the resources to care for a baby, other children are removed from their families by the judiciary and require interim care, and still more are found abandoned or neglected in the community (in dustbins, alleyways, or in the veld) and are referred to TLC by members of the South African Police Services.
Wherever possible we admit these little ones into our home, and from that point are committed to the very best outcome for each individual child, whether that means they are returned to a member of their biological family, or are eventually united with an adoptive family.
