It seemed like a normal day for Charmaine when she took her dog, Georgie, for a walk. The 63-year-old and her pet often take different routes when out walking. On that particular day, their walk took them past a storm drain. No sooner had they neared the drain, did Georgie begin to bark madly. When Charmaine took a closer look, she couldn’t believe her eyes. According to Charmaine, Georgie is scared of cats, so when she heard cries coming from within the drain she thought perhaps a cat had gotten itself stuck.
She reportedly said: “I first thought it was a cat because he is scared of cats, but then when I heard the cries again, I realized it was a baby.” That’s right, a baby. She quickly flagged down a car, belonging to Viljoen. He used a steel bar to lift the concrete covering from the drain and reveal a shocking truth. There was a newborn baby lying naked – its umbilical cord still attached – at the base of the drain. Viljoen climbed down into the 6-foot deep hole and worked his way down towards the baby. As he did so he encountered red ants that began to bite his legs – the baby was lucky they weren’t where she was.
Viljoen told the Daily Mail: “I didn’t know if the baby was injured so I tried to pick her up very carefully and very slowly and she was so small. I just wanted to hold her for a while but I knew that she needed urgent medical help.” Viljoen hoisted the baby up to Keevy, who wrapped the child in her jersey and comforted her as they waited for emergency services to arrive. When they did, the baby was immediately taken to hospital with hypothermia and respiratory issues. At the moment, the hospital are still trying to locate the mother of the baby they’ve named Grace.
Charmaine later posted an update to Facebook in which she confirmed Grace is still alive and well on the mend in an incubator, despite claims to the contrary being spread on social media. Several years after, Grace is now the light of her family. Baby Saver the update to shared her story recently, and we were so excited to hear about it. “Almost four years later, and Grace, now a bubbly happy toddler who loves to sing and dance and is looking forward to starting nursery school, has a loving adoptive family and considers Charmaine to be an honorary granny. Her birth family and the person who placed her inside the stormwater drain were never found.”
