Every day we read or hear about kidnappings and abductions of children. If this should happen to your child do you have something the police can use to search for your child?

Nicolene O’Kelly and Simone Webb, staff at Realty Estate Agency, launched a project where they visited some of the schools with the help of officers of the police force, and then compiled an identikit of each child that was sent home for parents for safe keeping.

Schools that participated were Kleutervriend and Barberton nursery schools and Gateway Christian School.

According to WO Jesmarie Goosen who helped to take finger prints of the children at Gateway, it was a good idea to have a record like this of your child. “When children are older you have dental records of them but this is not the case with younger kids.”

Besides the finger prints that were done on a specially designed carton parents also received a plastic bag in which they could put a nail clipping and a strand of hair for a DNA match. This would be enough to determine whether an abducted child was kept in a specific room or area.

Goosen also talked to the children and explained to them how to leave traces behind for the police if something like this should happen to them. “Spit somewhere in the room where you are kept and this is the one time that you are allowed to miss the toilet and do it on the floor,” she told them under much laughter.

If you would like to join the project you can contact Realty on 013-712-4534.

Nicolene O’Kelly with Analyn Shim who proudly displays her fingerprints

WO Jesmarie Goosen takes Fezile Mashabane’s fingerprints with Nicolene O’Kelly watching from behind

Amy Brandt allows WO Jesmarie Goosen to take her fingerprints