KNYSNA NEWS - Last Wednesday, 12 July, the Mercy Haven Baby Saver in Queen Street celebrated one year of service to Knysna and surrounding communities.

Knysna's baby saver is a small door in the side wall of the blue Knysna Hope building - directly to the left of the Knysna Primary School field. The Mercy Haven Baby Saver is currently the only baby saver between Cape Town and Gqeberha.

Infant abandonment continues to pose a significant problem in South Africa, with 10 000 babies being abandoned annually and two thirds of those being found dead. Sadly, infant abandonment happens locally as well; most recently in Knysna, a baby was abandoned and died in late April this year*.

In an effort to help desperate mothers be fully aware of all their options before they turn to abortion or abandonment, Mercy Haven offers crisis pregnancy counselling through certified counsellor and Mercy Haven founder Leah Highfill. 

Through counselling alone, babies' lives have been preserved this year as a result of moms choosing to keep their babies instead of aborting or abandoning them.

A baby saver presents a last resort, life-saving option of safe relinquishment for desperate mothers. Mercy Haven hopes to lower the abortion and infant abandonment statistics in Knysna and along the Garden Route through the services it offers. 

Knysna's baby saver is open 24 hours a day, and the trained response team is always on call.

Mercy Haven invites the Knysna and Plett communities to help raise awareness about Knysna's baby saver and its location so that moms in crisis know where to go for help when they need it. 

If you would like to join their efforts of raising awareness through distributing flyers to clinics, schools and businesses, volunteering, or donating items or funds for their ongoing needs and upkeep, you can contact Leah Highfill via WhatsApp on 066 086 9208.

The public is invited to follow the "Mercy Haven Baby Saver-Knysna" Facebook page to keep up with local baby saver news as well as details of the infant abandonment scene in South Africa. 

For more information about the baby saver initiative across South Africa, go to www.babysaversa.co.za. For more information about Knysna Hope, go to www.knysnahope.org. 

* Police were yet to provide comment on this incident at the time of going to print.

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