A police officer’s sworn duty is to protect and serve. But sometimes protecting and serving the public looks a little different than we imagine.
In Officer Celeste Ayala’s case, the way she protected and served her community was through breastfeeding.
The Argentinian police officer was on duty at the Sor María Ludovica hospital when she heard a baby crying. To Ayala, that was the sound of someone who needed to be protected and served.
Ayala, a mother of three, knew what those cries were.
They were cries of hunger.
According to FOX News, the baby was one of six siblings who were malnourished and taken away from their mother.
“It was a sad moment, it broke my soul seeing him like this. Society should be sensitive to the issues affecting children. It cannot keep happening,” she told Cronica.
So, after speaking to the nurses Ayala, who recently gave birth, sat down in a chair outside the hospital ward to breastfeed the baby that wasn’t her own.
Ayala’s colleague, Marcos Heredia, was moved by Ayala’s gesture to care for the baby.
He snapped a photo of the act and posted it on Facebook where it ended up going viral. The post was shared more than 113,000 times.
“I want to make public this great gesture of love that you had today with that little baby, who without knowing you didn’t hesitate and for a moment you fulfilled how if you were her mother, you don’t care about filth and smell like professional lords of the hospital manifest. Things like that don’t look every day. Today August 14th day of woman police you spent companion ‘Cele Ayala’ Police officer cp of berisso,” Heredia wrote, according to Google Translate.
The event coincidentally was taken in the city of Berisso on Aug. 14 on National Day of the Female Officer in Argentina.
Ayala was subsequently promoted from officer to sergeant after her inspirational act.
“We wanted to thank (Ayala) in person for that gesture of spontaneous love that managed to calm the baby’s cry,” Cristian Ritondo, the minister of security of the Buenos Aires province, tweeted. “An officer we’re proud of. An officer we want.”
There were plenty of people on social media who were also extremely proud and inspired by Ayala.
“This is the woman who represents me, God protect you and bless you always,” one woman said.
“Congratulations the truth that picture says it all I’m sure you must be a great mother and person with women like you one feels proud to be woman my respect for you and may God protect you always,” another said.
You can see Heredia’s original post below.
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Quiero hacer público este gran gesto de amor que tuviste hoy con ese bebito, que sin conocerlo no dudaste y por un…
Posted by Marcos Heredia onTuesday, August 14, 2018
