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What happens to abandoned babies in South Africa?

08/20/25

Imagine being a mother with no one to turn to in your desperate hour of need.

In South Africa, baby abandonment remains a heartbreaking reality, often driven by desperation, fear, and a lack of support.

In Johannesburg alone, an estimated 3-4 babies are abandoned every day—in dumpsters, trash piles, and even toilets. Tragically, oftentimes people don’t know that a baby has been left until it’s too late.

Many families living in informal settlements in South Africa struggle to provide for basic needs like food and shelter. In some cases, mothers desperately feel they have no choice but to abandon their precious babies.

After learning about the heartbreaking situations these families find themselves in, we wanted to do everything we could to protect these precious babies, empower vulnerable families, and prevent baby abandonment.

In 2020, the Tim Tebow Foundation partnered with Impact Africa in Johannesburg to help change that. Together, we created TTF Impact Baby Rescue, which helps fight baby abandonment through a three-pronged approach: prevention, rescue, and family reunification or adoption.

We pray that our partnership will put an end to the normalcy of baby abandonment as mothers are supported to make life-affirming choices, and babies are safe and secure in a forever family.

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