Identikidz ensure children who are lost are reunited with loved ones
30 December 2024
STATEMENT BY THE CITY’S MAYORAL COMMITTEE MEMBER FOR COMMUNITY SERVICES AND HEALTH, COUNCILLOR PATRICIA VAN DER ROSS
Nearly 20 000 children were tagged and eight were separated from their parents or caregivers this past weekend.
This week eight children were lost and unfortunately most of them were not tagged. It took much longer to reunite them with loved ones causing unnecessary trauma to little ones.
While this number is much lower than last weekend’s 169 children lost, as parents and caregivers, we must do better.
This is unacceptable.
Our beaches are some of the best, most beautiful and happiest places to be. They’re also popular, crowded and if we’re not all doing our part, they can be dangerous.
Many parents still decline to have their children tagged in the City’s Identikidz programme as they are reluctant to provide their contact details.
Rest assured your personal information will only be used should your child be lost and we need to contact you.
It is easy for a small child to get lost in a crowd of adults. Your child’s safety is your responsibility, not that of a slightly older sibling or the lifeguards. Help us keep your children safe at the beach.
Identikidz is coordinated by the City’s Community, Arts and Culture Development Department.
We tagged 19 677 children and by location, the busiest beaches over this weekend were Strand (2 907), Muizenberg (2 169) and Strandfontein (2 107).
The rest of the participating beaches returned the following statistics:
• Camps Bay: 1 933
• Monwabisi: 1 905
• Mnandi: 2 065
• Sea Point: 1 359
• Harmony Park: 1 210
• Gordon's Bay: 1 581
• Fish Hoek: 788
• Milnerton Beach: 67
• Melkbosstrand: 497
• Silwerstroomstrand: 508
• Lagoon Beach: 436
• Big Bay: 280
Staff at the Identikidz registration desks will:
With the permission of parents or caregivers, register children and issue them with an identification tag/wrist band
Assist with the reunification of a lost or displaced child
Work closely with the provincial Department of Social Development, the City’s enforcement agencies and the South African Police Service to ensure the safety and reunification of a lost or displaced child with their family.
The City would like to remind the public of four golden rules to be cognisant of when in and around water:
Always swim on a beach with lifeguards on duty, and between their red and yellow flags
Do not leave children unsupervised in or around water
Do not swim under the influence of alcohol
Beware of rip currents. If you're caught in a current, try to stay calm and signal for help
New moon spring tide, which will peak on 31 December 2024, will result in higher than usual high tides and lower than usual low tides that can last several days. These variations lead to more intensified currents affecting bather safety.
End
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
