Benedictine sisters in Santo Domingo de los Colorados. open on December 10 this year the first window of life in Ecuador. Here it will be called "Cradle of Life" (Cuna de Vida).
In Ecuador, abandonments of newborns and infants occur quite often, especially by poor, very young mothers. No official statistics on this are kept, so it is not known how many cases there are. However, information about the child's abandonment is constantly appearing in the media. Some children have some luck and survive, others die. There are shocking reports, for example, on September 2, a mother left a three-day old girl, in an abandoned box on a busy street.
Someone accidentally looked in and saw a child. Policemen were afraid to touch them because they thought he was already dead. Help, however, came in time and the little one survived. She ended up in an orphanage led by Benedictine sisters.
She was given a name wof Sofia (Zosia) and she is growing well. In the orphanage, the sisters take care of about forty girls. These children are safe now. However, the sisters were constantly moved by the fate of abandoned children: on November 28 a boy was found, on November 29 another, and on December 1 a girl. The thought of setting up a window of life similar to those in Poland has been on sisters thoughts for several years, but abandoning of Zosia mobilized them to action.
"Cradle for Life" is being built next to the Benedictine Sisters' house. The city authorities and the Ministry of Health were interested and invited. The opening ceremony took place on December 10 this year. with representatives of local state authorities and the Church. The sisters took care of advertising their project by organizing a press conference at 10 am (Ecuadorian time) and inviting journalists from local and national media, not only newspapers and weeklies, but also national television. People should know about the creation of the "Cradle", where you can safely leave your child in the most difficult life situations. The interest in this initiative is very high.
The problem of proper child protection in Ecuador is very serious. There are even missing and abducted children, and everyone knows that there are those who sell them "for organs". You can't leave your child alone even for a short while, so that someone does not use the "Cradle of Life" for their own evil purposes. Just a moment is enough.
Everything has been made modern and automated. The mother wishing to leave the child must press the button that automatically opens the window to the cradle.
If he does not put the child in, it will close after 40 seconds. Inside is the cradle which is part of the incubator and provides comfort and safety. The cradle weighs the baby and sends an alarm signal to the sisters. Thanks to the installed camera, the sister superior can observe on her smartphone what is going on there. 60 seconds after inserting the child, the reinforced window closes automatically and the cradle moves from view and "hides" the child in a safe corner. The sister coming for the child must enter the code to disarm the alarm so that she can go inside. Thanks to this automatic system, a child left behind will definitely be safe.
After inserting the child, the "cradle" closes, and the mother automatically receives information in writing confirming the child's deposit in safety and what the rights of the mother are. All in accordance with the local legal system.
The Benedictine Sisters have been working in Santo Domingo in Ecuador for many years. There are six and one postulant. Four of them are Polish, one is Ukrainian and Ecuadorian. Mother Superior, Sr. Carmela, privately Ewa Pilarska from Płock, is full of energy and very well organized. It is thanks to her that the "Cradle for Life" is created and it is she who will have a direct online control of what is going on there.
Two years ago, on May 1 - 5, 2017, the pilgrimage Icon of Częstochowa visited the house of the Benedictine Sisters in Santo Domingo. Our Lady felt at home there. More on this topic HERE
The sisters, who have been taking care of orphans for many years, took the matter of launching the "Cradle of Life" deeply in their hearts. Now this dream is coming true! Many children will be saved!