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Child Safety Month 2007 -
August 2007. more

First United Nations Global Road Safety Week 23 – 29 April 2007 (PDF) Click here

Choosing a swimming teacher - a guide for parents Click Here

First Aid for Burns: What to do. Graphically presented.
Click here (PDF)

Watch That Child! -
Child safety is no accident. more

CAPFSA 25th Anniversary - Feedback on 25th Anniversary banquet. more

CAPFSA 25th Anniversary - International Conference held in October 2003. more

Safety Tips (English) - Points to note around the house - graphically presented. click here

Safety Chart (English) - Savlons Family Safety Chart - graphically presented. click here

NATIONAL CHILD ACCIDENT PREVENTION WEEK (CAPWEEK)
(12-17 August 2002)

National Child Accident Prevention Week was held from 12 – 17 August 2002. The theme for the week was SAFETY BEGINS AT HOME.

With National Child Accident Prevention Week the Child Accident Prevention Foundation (CAPFSA) aimed to raise awareness and promote action to reduce South Africa’s unacceptable high rate of childhood injuries and deaths. This health week is set aside to remind people that childhood injuries are preventable and that keeping children safe is not just about “good luck”.

This year CAPFSA once again highlighted the dangers that children face at play and at home from accidents that could have been prevented. This week assisted health and other practitioners by providing them with resources to promote injury prevention messages.

The week furthermore aimed to:

• Provide clear and accurate safety information to the public.
• Encourage local communities to take part in child safety activities.
• Encourage the media to provide positive coverage of child injury prevention and safety issues.

LAUNCH  13 AUGUST  Red Cross Children's Hospital

On 13 August CAPFSA launched the week by having a programme for the public. Speakers from the Western Education Department and Medical Research Council focused respectively on safety education and injury surveillance in schools.

Ottery fire department teaching staff and patients
at the hospital about fire safety.

Curriculum Director of the Western Cape education Department, Jenny Rault Smith launched the new Life Orientation Kit designed to help teachers compile lessons to teach children to keep safe. CAPFSA in conjunction with Western Cape Education compiled the Kit and will pilot it in approximately 100 schools in the Western Cape. The information is targeted to Foundation phase learners and is based on real life experiences.

Hilton Donson and Gail Wyngaart from the MRC/ UNISA Crime, Violence and Injury Lead Programme addressed the audience on the School Injury Surveillance study they are currently involved in.

Fire and Emergency Services teaching patients from
Red Cross Children's Hospital to Stop Drop And Roll

Activity with Patients of Red Cross Children's Hospital

Every year during Child Accident Prevention Week, CAPFSA arrange a special event for the patients of Red Cross Children’s Hospital.

In support of National Child Accident Prevention Week, CAPFSA staff requested Sanlam to arrange a Muppet character from Takalani Sesame Street to visit the patients of the Red Cross Children’s Hospital. This was an attempt to brighten the stay of patients at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital; Sanlam sponsored NENO to visit with the patients. NENO visited with the patients on 15 August and took photographs with them at their bedside. Each patient was given a Polaroid photograph of him or her with NENO to keep as a memento of the occasion.

Takalani Sesame is a locally produced adaptation of the world-renowned series, Sesame Street. The South African series is specifically targeted at pre- schoolers who have little or no exposure to formal ECD (Early Learning Development) structures. The programme was conceived as a concrete educational tool that supports and reflects the Department of Education’s ECD policy. Young viewers of Takalani Sesame learn important lessons in numeracy, literacy and life skills in a fun and entertaining format.

NENO visited the Trauma Unit and Burns Unit where medical staff attends to child victims of motor vehicle accidents, burns, falls, abuse, and other trauma emergencies on a daily basis. NENO brought joy and laughter by taking photos with the patients and handing each child a party pack and pens donated by the Spur. NENO also visited patients in several other wards, as these young children often spend long periods separated from their loved ones. The children thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

In addition to NENO’s visit, Sanlam donated twenty blackboards for use in the hospital school and wards. Rene Moolman (Hospital School Principal) and Nazreena Teladia (Director: Friends of the Hospital) accepted the blackboards.

The activity went well. The staff on the wards was very co-operative and supportive of the character NENO’s visit to the patients in the wards. The character visited limited areas in the hospital, which is understandable but a great loss for the children in the other wards. It would have been preferable that each patient was given the opportunity to have a photo taken with the character/s. Staff should evaluate the possibility of arranging more than one character visiting next year. There is a more enthusiastic response from the children when a character hands them a toy or sweets. The toys from BP unfortunately arrived late and it would have been wonderful if we could have handed it out with the sweets that week.

Safety Exhibitions

During CAPWEEK, child safety exhibitions and competitions were held at Groote Schuur and Red Cross Children’s Hospitals and at various shops in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

Hospital Exhibitions

GROOTE SCHUUR HOSPITAL

A display of child safety resources were exhibited from the 12- 16 August 2002 at Groote Schuur Hospital in the busy corridor, Hospital Lane. The theme of the display was “Safety Begins at Home”. The exhibition was put up and manned by Rukea Abdroef, a dedicated volunteer of the Child Accident Prevention Centre. She enjoyed interacting with the general public, hospital staff, medical students and staff that visited the exhibition. Ms Abdroef distributed paraffin child safety caps (Paraffin Safety Association), Burnshield hydro gel samplers (Levtrade), Savlon products (Johnson & Johnson) and sweets at the exhibition stand.

Visitors to the stand had an opportunity to enter a lucky draw to win a self-powered solar radio. The winner of the radio was David Qaku (staff).

Rukea and her colleagues manned the exhibition throughout the week. She received positive feedback from the hospital staff, students and visitors. Staff had to deliver additional stock to her as she ran out of promotional items and safety leaflets.

RED CROSS CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

The main CAPWEEK exhibition and resource table was displayed in the hospital main foyer on the 12- 16 August 2002. The exhibition was supported by a display of artwork by learners from the Hospital School and the Therapeutic Learning Centre. Information on developmental stages and safety was displayed in the New Outpatients waiting area. Posters advertising the week were put up throughout the hospital in an effort to create CAPWEEK awareness amongst visitors and staff at the hospital.

Visitors to the main exhibition in the hospital foyer also had the opportunity to enter a lucky draw for a Freeplay self-powered solar radio. Both staff and visitors were encouraged to participate in this competition. The winner of the radio was Sr Japhta (Dept: ICU).

There was interest in the resource table as leaflets were refreshed twice daily. The hospital staff is familiar with the leaflets and therefore did not show much interest in it.

The exhibition of artwork of the hospital patients accompanied the exhibition in the foyer, which was nice. A few patients came down from the wards with staff and parents during the course of the week to view their artwork being exhibited- a proud moment for the patients.

A resource table was not put out in the new Outpatients section. This was a loss of exposure, as many visitors do not necessarily visit/ exit through the old foyer. Staff will have to consult with the public relations department next year in maximizing exposure within the hospital. It was felt that maybe CAPFSA would target a broader target group if resources were exhibited in the Out Patient building.

The lucky draw for the Freeplay radio was greeted with great enthusiasm, assessing by the number of entries received.

OTHER EXHIBITIONS

CAPFSA supplied educational materials to health facilities, libraries and organisations that in turn did educational displays/activities in their respective communities.

Johnson and Johnson had promotional stands, supporting Child Accident Prevention Week, in 20 stores in Cape Town and Johannesburg and promoted CAPFSA and the week at the stands. CAPFSA staff visited the each of the stands in Cape Town on Friday, 16 August. CAPFSA’s educational leaflets were distributed from these stands.

The exhibitors manning the stand were very enthusiastic & supportive of the safety resources that were given to them. They did a wonderful job promoting the week at their stands in the shopping markets.

DISTRIBUTION OF SAFETY RESOURCES AND SAFETY INFORMATION

CAPWEEK Poster

A poster promoting CAPWEEK was distributed to clinics, libraries and interested organisations. More than two thousand of these posters were distributed in the Cape Province and Gauteng area.

Child Safety Educational Leaflets

SANLAM and Johnson & Johnson sponsored educational leaflets on child safety. CAPFSA ran out of SANLAM sponsored leaflets. As a last resort leaflets were photocopied and distributed to the communities. Due to a lack of funding only a limited number of leaflets could be reproduced.

There was a tremendous response regarding the requests for the resources, which resulted in the photocopying of leaflets. Unfortunately we could not meet the demand of all the requests due to the limited educational resources.

Approximately 24 581 leaflets were distributed to Health Clinics, Hospitals, Libraries and different organizations on request. Organisations that had facilities were encouraged to photocopy the leaflets due to limited stock at CAPFSA.

People from different organisations especially the Clinics requested to borrow safety videos to show patients in the waiting rooms.

LEAFLET DISTRIBUTION FOR CAPWEEK

CLINIC/HOSPITAL/ORGANISATION/LIBRARY		Number of leaflets
Vincent Palloti		150
Adam Tas		100
Legae Private Clinic		418
SP Municipal Clinics		2100
WC Health Resources Centre		4700
Langa Clinic		500
Delft Clinic		950
Paarl East Day Hospital		955
Kleinvlei day hospital		500
Groote Schuur Hospital		1200
Tygerberg Hospital		280
Hanover Park Community health Centre		700
Denosa		75
Pharmacy		100
CAFDA		300
Grassroots		2755
Child Safe		355
Choice Child Care		453
Clothing Industry		30
Child safety (UNISA)		50
RXH Social Work Dept		250
Moreesburg Ambulance Services		2000
Bellville Library		1400
Valhalla Park Library		300
Goedverwacht Library		120
CAPFSA		2300
Vredelus House		350
Day Care		180
Elandfontein		300
Communicare		710

Media Coverage

Print and broadcasting media were used to create awareness to a broader sector of the public.

Print media:
A press release was sent out before CAPWEEK. Unfortunately CAPFSA does not have access to all magazines and newspapers to scan coverage. Due to positive relationships built over the years with the various local newspapers CAPFSA once again received positive coverage of the week.

Radio and television:
Various radio stations and TV channels assisted in promoting child injury prevention and the week in particular. CAPFSA staff participated in various programmes before during and after the week. Staff did programmes on safety and CAPWEEK on the following radio stations:

• Radio Zibonele – 3 & 10 August
• Radio Sonder Grense - 11 August
• Bush Radio– 12 August
• Bush Radio – 13 August
• Radio Matie – 14 August
• CCFM – 26 August

Internet:
CAPWEEK also received coverage on various webpages on the Internet.

CAPFSA would like to thank the media for their continued assistance in creating awareness around child accident prevention. Media coverage for the week was good. Even after the week people were phoning in to get information about the week.

Media Coverage

We were fortunate to receive some sponsorship, which assisted, with some of the activities and resources for the week.

The following sponsors assisted us during the week.

• BP Southern Africa – Promotional toys for the hospital patients
• Johnson & Johnson - Educational leaflets, SAVLON and plaster samplers, Capweek decals and promotional stands at shops in Cape Town and Gauteng in support of the week
• Levtrade International – Burnshield burn blott samplers
• Sanlam – educational leaflets and visit of Neno to the hospital patients
• Spur Steak Ranches – Promotional pens for the hospital patients.

CAPFSA would like to say a special thank you to all our sponsors.