Joburg's superhero, Papa Q, spread the message of safety across the city

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Drownings down after EMS safety campaign A campaign to spread the safety message is having positive results, with the number of drownings decreasing. People are also talking about the proposal to make it a law to cover swimming pools. April 2, 2007 By George Matlala AS part of its efforts to save lives, Joburg's Emergency Management Services (EMS) has been running a safety campaign – and it has yielded positive results. The EMS has reported that the number of drownings in the city has dropped by 12 percent - there were 64 drownings between September 2006 and March 2007, compared with 73 in the same period the previous summer. The campaign, which ended over the Weekend, was aimed at spreading information about water safety, protection from the sun, the hazards of littering and the dangers of lightning. "I think there is more awareness and people are talking about safety this year. I think we are making headway," says Malcolm Midgley, the EMS spokesperson, adding that the proposal to make it law to cover swimming pools also got people talking and thinking about safety. Midgley says many of the drownings this year happened at private homes. The City is also calling on residents to help spread the safety message by reporting safety hazards to Joburg Connect on 011 375 5555. Nthatisi Modingoane, Joburg's spokesperson, says: "I think the campaign has been a great success. We will build on this to make sure that we get the safety message across to the people." As part of the safety campaign, Papa Q, the City's safety mascot, has toured swimming pools and shopping malls across Johannesburg. His visits are aimed at persuading children to play safely near water, to use sunscreen and to avoid lightning. Papa Q dropped in at Alexandra and Soweto, among other areas, where he gave children lessons in safety and handed out free sunscreen samples. During one visit, sunscreen sales increased at a Soweto mall. "We have never seen anything like it. Sunscreen has been selling like nobody's business," said Jabulani Mngomezulu, who works in a pharmacy at Jabulani Mall. People seemed to be getting the message to take care of their and their children's skin. Other safety campaigns run by the City are road safety, by-law compliance and building safety. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za