Breaks My Heart

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On June 19th, 2009, another baby was found abandoned amongst garbage in a vacant lot. This time is was a little girl, just three days old.

The child was found wrapped in wet blankets, covered with branches, and suffering from hypothermia.

The woman that found the child is a "recicladora" (someone who sorts through garbage to find things to sell, such as metal). The woman saw the tiny bundle under the branches and went to see if it was something useful.

When she realized that it was a baby, she called two other people over to witness that the child was covered in ants and turning blue. Quickly, the woman -- Concepcion Arenas -- cleaned up the baby and got on a motorcycle with someone who could take the child to the hospital.

The baby is recuprating in an incubator at a local hospital in Santa Fe de Antioquia, where the hospital staff named her Manuela.

Unfortunately, Manuela's story is not completely unusal. In Colombia last year, 176 infants were found abandoned in public areas, and so far this year (January-May) there have been 61.

(http://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/justicia/ARTICULO-WEB-PLANTILLA_NOTA_INTERIOR-5493947.html)
Read more and see a picture here:

Comments

Anonymous said…
Such a sad story. I wonder if there's a law that allows mothers to safely (and without repurcussions) surrender their babies within a specific timeframe if for some reason they don't want to or can't care for them? That law is in place here, but every few years we hear about a similar situation. On a related topic, do you know if there's a "waiting children" photo or age list that the ICBF has for every department or region in Colombia?
June 29, 2009 at 12:19 PM
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