Rev. Lee first introduced the idea of the baby box in Korea as a temporary solution to keep abandoned babies alive.(Agencies)
Hundreds of unwanted babies are abandoned on the streets of Seoul, South Korea, every year. Many of them don't survive, but Rev. Jong-rak Lee of Jesus-Loving Union Church has set up a way for saving some of these unwanted babies. Outside his church in Seoul a sign says "Place to leave babies."
A "baby box" is there with a thick towel covering the bottom, and lights and heating to keep a baby comfortable. A bell rings when someone puts a baby in the box. Then a helper comes to immediately move the baby inside. This past year, six infants and small children were rescued at Lee's church.
Many of them are physically or mentally handicapped, or babies from unmarried mothers who can't care for their children.
"His skullis not shaped right," Lee pointed out about one child. "This note says that, 'He has this handicap, I am so sorry, but I am not able to raise this baby. So I put him safely in the baby box of Jesus-Loving Union Church."
Official reports say about 600 infants or young children are abandoned in the streets every year, but the number is probably higher. Only about 20 percent of abandoned infants or children are rescued and placed temporarily in juvenile protection centers.
And the numbers of infant deaths and abandoned children are bound toget worse as the rate of children born to single mothers increases.
