The boy had been abandoned for a week before social services got involved – Photo: Unsplash
The boy had been abandoned for a week before social services got involved – Photo: Unsplash
There’s heartlessness, then there’s this. A toddler in Canelands, KZN, has been without a parent for the last week – after his mother allegedly abandoned him to go and meet her boyfriend in Ndwedwe. The boy was found sleeping in a toilet by his local community.
Heartbreak for KZN toddler abandoned by his mother
Shocked residents have tried to contact the mom, but to no avail. The toddler is now under social care in Verulam, after Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) officers were eventually ASKED to step-in. Several other details have been established over the past 24 hours:
- The boy is estimated to be three or four years old.
- The community cared for the child in the past week, during their search for his mother.
- They contacted RUSA for assistance after failing to locate the mom.
- The child was unable to provide any details regarding his family.
- He was then transported to the Verulam Child and Family Welfare Society, where he is currently being interviewed by a social worker.
Canelands community comes together for boy ‘found in toilet’
The sheer callousness of the mother’s behaviour has sparked a huge response online. Hundreds of comments on RUSA’s post about the matter serve to express sympathy with the boy, and chastise the selfish mother.
In a statement issued by the Unit, they revealed that information about the boy’s primary caregiver was hard to come by…
“Members of Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) were called out to an informal area in Canelands – KZN by a resident requesting assistance for a child who was abandoned by his mother a week ago.”
“RUSA Members arrived on scene at approximately 13:17 (Monday) and met with a male who explained that he located a minor child sleeping in a communal toilet on Saturday. Residents in the area informed him that the child’s mother frequents the area.”
However they could not confirm where she resided. Other residents informed Reaction Officers that the child was abandoned last Monday after his mother informed them that she was proceeding to Ndwedwe – KZN to meet her boyfriend.” | RUSA statement
