Children find a loving home at Acres of Love

Johannesburg

We met some of the luckier ones: they had been found in pit toilets literally being eaten alive by maggots; they had been dumped in dustbins or city alleyways but at least they were found alive.

At the Acres of Love centre for abandoned babies in Bryanston, Johannesburg, we were shown how, after their horrific start in life, these babies begin their slow recovery.

Recently, the media carried the story of baby Elizabeth Precious, who was dumped in a city dustbin shortly after her birth.

But she is not alone. About 30 such babies are found in Johannesburg every month.

While some of the babies end up in hospital beds and welfare institutions, there are a few who are given an even better chance in life.

In the affluent suburb of Bryanston, the abandoned babies have found a new, loving home.

The children at the home are not allowed to wear rags or even old clothes.

"When old clothes are donated, we donate them to other charity organisations. We do not want them to be re-exposed to the sad environment, so we try to make this place as homely as possible," says Mandy Sayer, the media liaison officer of Acres of Love. "We spoil our children here".

Baby X sits on the lap of her saviour. A pale hand slowly strokes her soft, curly black hair. The other hand covers her small body protectively.

Those hands represent a safe haven; they help Baby X forget the chilling and unfriendly conditions she has been exposed to.

Her adoptive mother calls her name. She responds, her eyes still closed.

"Her biological mother attempted to abort her when she was 32 weeks old," explains Baby X's new mother. "Fortunately, she did not die."

Baby X is HIV-positive, but has not yet developed AIDS.

Baby X's new mother tearfully explains that she is a volunteer and prayed that God would bless her with a daughter.

"When I saw her I fell in love with her. I then asked Cherryl Burger, who runs the house, if I could adopt her." The adoption papers will soon be finalised.

"They come here without nails on some fingers from sucking them. That is the extent of their hunger and need for comfort. When they arrive here they never want to be touched," says Ms Burger.

Ryan Audagnotti, who started the Acres of Love project with his wife Gerda in October last year, says: "Some have spent two years on a hospital bed and, because hospitals are short-staffed, there was no one to comfort them."

Volunteers and workers at the home have witnessed the inhumanity: they have seen abandoned babies, their bodies covered with sores, rescued from toilet pits and babies, caked in rotting debris, picked out of rubbish bins .

Baby X is a living example of what a little love, patience and tenderness can produce.

When she arrived at Acres of Love, she would not allow herself to be held and she would not play on the grass. Now she enjoys the daily rides in her pram and sitting in the garden over the weekends.

"It is little things that we take for granted: kids jumping on the bed, watching mommy' baking. Taking care of these children makes us richer, it is a blessing we never expected," says Mr Audagnotti. "We want them to leave this place knowing that they are valuable members of society."

When Acres of Love opened, 10 babies were transferred from Sebokeng hospital into the Audagnottis' care.

The Audagnottis hope to open a second house so the number of abandoned children at institutions will drop even further.

Since January four children have been adopted from Acres of Love. The hospital is home to only three abandoned babies at the moment and will only be left with one child after adoption procedures have been completed.