….Found wrapped in a bag as mother flee
A MALE infant was found alive wrapped in an old empty 20kg bag of rice after his mother allegedly abandoned him hours after being delivered.
The discovery had shocked Namolaelae villagers in East Kwaio, Malaita province last weekend.
Reports reaching the paper said the healthy looking baby was left infront of a home on Saturday night leaving the baby in the dark.
The suspect is said to be from another village. She only came and left the baby in front of the home in Namolaelae after successfully giving birth.
Kilusakwalo school principal Alick Bebesia who was at his home village over the weekend told this paper in an exclusive interview yesterday that the incident has caught Namulaelae villagers by surprise.
Mr Bebesia said the innocent baby boy who was just hours old was found in a bag wrapped with an old bag at around 9pm on Saturday night.
“The baby was wrapped with a very old bag and was placed inside a 20kg rice bag with sand on this baby,” he said.
Mr Bebesia said, the mother must have given birth to the baby boy along the river because there was sand found on the baby’s body.
He said the baby’s mother then left the baby at the feet of the ladder of a home without informing any of the community members.
He said at around 9pm on Saturday night, the baby cried out for his mother, thats when the desperate voice of the innocent baby caught the ears of a mother next door which triggered her to search for the source where the crying came from.
To her surprise, she discovered this newborn crying helplessly for her mother at the bottom of the ladder.
The baby was then rushed to the village clinic where the baby was able to receive much needed medical attention without the help of his ignorant mother.
Mr Bebesia said village elders and chiefs tried their best to identify and locate the mother that night.
Although they got to the suspect____s village she denied the baby as not hers.
However, on Sunday afternoon a nurse at the Namolaelae village who was willing to adopt the innocent baby asked the mother to admit if the baby was her, thats when she finally admitted that she is the mother.
Mr Bebesia said, relatives of the innocent baby upon hearing confession took the baby back to his mother.
The baby is now reunited with the mother but according to a report received, she is yet to fully accept the baby into her life.
Following the incident Mr Bebesia has appealed to the police, church leaders, community chiefs and elders in Malaita to work together to put a stop to such no care attitude.
The concern school principal described the incident one of the saddest that ever happened in his home village.
Meanwhile Namolaelae village chiefs have acknowledged for their help in locating the mother of the baby.
Mr Bebeisa thanked chef Jack Gege and Steve Sade for their effort in successfully coordinating the search which resulted in identifying the mother of the innocent baby.
He said without the chiefs’ efforts locating the mother of the baby would take time.
“With the help of the two chiefs, the baby is now back reunited with his mother.”
With that, Mr. Bebesia said the house of chiefs played an important role in any given situation in the rural areas not only in Malaita but also other provinces.
By BIRA’AU WILSON SAENI
In Auki
