Abandoned baby inundated with presents 29/11/2006 00:00

29 November 2006

AMSTERDAM — The newborn baby found abandoned in a cardboard box at a railway station on the Dutch-Belgian border on Sunday has been inundated with soft toys and donations. 

Dozens of cuddly toys and baby clothing has been taken to the social services unit at the Essen town hall and EUR 2,000 in donations has been deposited in a special baby bank account.

Due to intense interest in the baby boy's fate, a clothing shop in Essen has drawn up a public shopping list of bibs and similar items. Retailers are giving 20 percent of the sales to the child.

An Essen social worker José Elst, 65, has been appointed temporary guardian of the baby, who has officially been given the name Jasper van Essen.

"People are talking about the child as though it is theirs," she said. "Someone in the village even started a collection to have birth cards printed. Fantastic, right?"

A large number of candidate adoption parents have also reported to social services, with at least 35 emails and telephones from interested people.

The child will probably be adopted out to a couple outside the village.

Essen is located just across the Dutch border in Belgium. The week-old baby was found abandoned on Sunday morning.

Police conducted a search of the area — including on a train that had arrived from the nearby Dutch city of Roosendaal — but to no avail.

[Copyright Expatica News + ANP 2006]

Subject: Dutch + Belgian news