Cape Town - With thousands of people flocking to Cape Town's beaches, the Disaster Risk Management Centre and Department of Social Development and Early Childhood Development have teamed up to coordinate the Identikidz programme.
The programme, which is primarily targeted at children under the age of 6, allows parents and caregivers to register their children when they arrive at participating beaches.
“An armband is issued to the child with a reference number which is linked to the contact details of their parent or caregiver, in the event that the child gets separated from his family,” said the City of Cape Town's safety chief JP Smith.
Smith said the programme has been a great success thus far as children are willingly registering to get their tags.
“Nearly 500 children were already registered when I arrived at Sea Point Pavillion early this (Tuesday) morning. I feel encouraged about the amount of children who have willingly availed themselves to be tagged,” he said.
“Thus far some of the concerning trends have included children arriving at the beach without adult supervision, parents switching off cellphones which means we can’t reach them in the event that their child disappears, and adults drinking and being unaware of their children’s whereabouts.
“We need everyone’s cooperation and support to make the Identikidz project a success; it can’t be left to the authorities alone. People need to take accountability for their actions,” he said.
The project focuses on "priority beach days" from December 26 to 31 and again in January 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7, 2018.
The service will be available at the following beaches:
* Big Bay
* Blaauwberg
* Camps Bay
* Clovelly
* Fish Hoek
* Gordon’s Bay
* Harmony Park
* Hout Bay
* Macassar
* Mnandi
* Monwabisi
* Muizenberg
* Sea Point and the surrounding area
* Silwerstroom
* Simon’s Town
* Strand, and
* Strandfontein
The Identikidz programme means parents and caregivers can be tracked down more quickly when children get lost at the beach. Picture: Murray Williams
The NSRI is also urging the public to be cautious around all bodies of water over the festive season.
Basic water safety tips include:
* Children should have responsible adult supervision when in or near water
* Swim at beaches where and when lifeguards are on duty and only swim between their flags
* Don’t drink alcohol before you swim
* Never swim alone, always swim in groups
* Swimming pool fences and a child safe pool cover or net is vital at home swimming pools
* Know how to survive rip currents
* Don’t attempt a rescue yourself
* Do not let children use floating objects, toys or tyre tubes at the beach or on dams. as they may cause you to be blown to deep water by winds
* Do not be distracted by your cell phone
* Wear lifejackets when you are on a boat
* If your boat has a kill switch always wear it
* Paddlers and boaters should download and register on the NSRI’s free app RSA SafeTrx
* Wear bright clothing when boating
* Rock Anglers should wear lifejackets
* Have local emergency numbers saved
* Do not dive into water
Download the NSRI's RSA SafeTrx for Android here and for iOS here.