The City of Cape Town’s Social Development and Early Childhood Development is making its way to the beach with its Identikidz project.
The project, which provides children on beaches with identification tags to help them be located in case they get lost, has become an important element of the festive season safety plan.
This festive season, Identikidz will run at 15 beaches.
The selected beaches include Muizenberg, Fish Hoek, Strandfontein, Gordon’s Bay, Strand, Monwabisi, Harmony Park, Mnandi, Big Bay, Sea Point, and surrounding areas. These include Silwerstroom, Camps Bay, Lagoon Beach, Melkbosstrand, and Milnerton Beach.
The programme will only be available on specific dates. In the remaining time of 2019 it with run on December 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 25, 26, 28, 29 and 31.
In the new year, it will run on January 1, 2, 4, 5, 11, and 12.
More than 100 000 children were tagged at participating beaches during the 2018/2019 festive season period. As a result, a total of 535 children were reunited with their parents.
Councillor Zahid Badroodien, the City’s Mayco Member for Community Services and Health, said: “The Identikidz programme has grown exponentially as more people become aware of it, and the results are truly astounding”.
He noted that the project gives parents peace of mind on busy beach days, when children can easily get lost in the crowd.
Badroondien has also urged parents to register their children with Identikidz if attending the beach on the specified days this festive season. He added that, “Identikidz is a massive undertaking” and that the staff works with other organisations such as the SAPS and the City’s enforcement staff.
Finally, he said that while they are doing everything possible to ensure the safety of children, “this doesn’t absolve parents and caregivers of their responsibility”.
Image: Supplied
