The Identikidz project, aimed at ensuring the safety of children at local beaches, will run until this Sunday (12 January).
The annual project, coordinated by the City of Cape Town’s Community, Arts and Culture Development Department, was launched on Saturday 14 December and continues to grow in popularity. A comparison with the previous festive season shows that the number of children tagged increased by nearly 4 000, from 85 916 to 89 689 by Thursday 2 January.
The project’s statistics also shows that Strand Beach was one of the busiest beaches in the metropole this holidays, with a total of 3 183 children tagged at the local beach on Christmas and Boxing Day and 2 907 on New Year’s Day and Thursday 2 January.
The project sees staff at the Identikidz registration desks at beaches register children and issue them with an identification tag or wristband with permission from parents or guardians. Should the child be lost or displaced on that day, staff will then assist with the reunification and work closely with the provincial Department of Social Development, the City’s law enforcement agencies and the police to ensure the safety and reunification of a lost or displaced child with their family.
On Christmas and Boxing Day 1 815 children were tagged at Harmony Park and 1 486 at Gordon’s Bay, while 1 210 and 1 581 children were respectively tagged at these beaches on 1 and 2 January.
To date, Identikidz staff have reunited 256 children with their families at all 16 participating Cape Town beaches, while 11 children were handed over to the provincial Department of Social Development on New Year’s Day, as their caregivers could not be contacted.
