Strong Fundraising Efforts Lead To Better Caring Of Abandoned Children – Says A Child Welfare NGO

Arlene Zlotnick, the manager of fundraising at Impilo Child Protection and Adoption Services (Impilo), puts forth a lot of effort to make sure that abandoned children receive the care they require by generating money for the facility so that carers can take care of the kids.

She told SA Good News that the centre’s goal is to transform the lives of kids who are left behind by their parents for a variety of reasons, some of which are only known to them.

According to Zlotnick, the centre provides extensive social work and child protection services while placing children in temporary safe care. This allows the centre to place children in a permanent family setting as soon as possible after removal.

“We assist roughly 150 vulnerable, abandoned, or orphaned children in the Gauteng region at any given time. In a given year, 13% to 19% of the children under care will either be refugees or asylum seekers. 90% of the children we assist are under six years old, even though we offer services to children up to the age of eighteen,” the institution explained.

Only one in three of the roughly 3,500 abandoned infants each year find the strength to survive, according to a 2013 study by Dee Blackie.

According to Zlotnick, the institution collaborates with eighteen other charities in the Gauteng region alone to provide safe havens for around 150 orphaned children each month.

“Of those children, between 13% and 19% are [born to] refugees. Through our work, we may give children a glimpse of a better future,” she remarked.

She clarified that there are two types of desertion that affect thousands of children annually: soft and hard.

According to her, a child experiences “hard abandonment” when they are consciously and totally abandoned by their caretakers with no plans to return or provide ongoing support. While soft abandonment refers to a more subdued and gradual kind of neglect, it frequently entails leaving them in fields, cemeteries, or on the doorway of orphanages. It frequently occurs when parents refuse to or are unable to give their children the proper care while still holding onto them.

Sadly, she said the majority of infants that we meet are the result of gender-based violence (GBV), such as when a family member rapes a mother. Then, frequently, they will attempt to bring the pregnancy to term before her family abandons her for an unspecified reason. After that, the moms frequently attempt self-abortion, which lands them in the hospital where they subsequently leave the child behind, according to Zlotnick.

“Thankfully”, she added, “there is hope for the kids that Impilo does manage to contact.”

The carers at Impilo Child Protection and Adoption Services live life in IsiZulu, and they do this every day.

“We place hundreds of children with carefully screened families from around the world, giving them a chance for a better life,” the spokesperson stated.

According to Zlotnick, adoption is typically a last-resort choice.
“We attempt to reunite children with their birth family when it is in their best interest. If not, prospective parents can expect cultural training and a very rigorous screening procedure. Additionally, we maintain in touch with the adopting families until the child turns eighteen,” she added.

Editor’s note: This organisation tried by all means to ensure children who are abandoned received the protection and love they deserve no matter their parents citizenship status.

Description: The Impilo Child Protection and Adoption Services is on a mission to change the lives of children who are abandoned by their parents for various reasons, some only known to them, by giving them the care and love they need. It does this through protection and adoption services.

Editor: Thato Mahlangu

Project manager: Do4SA