Edenglen unites to find Grade One learner
"What worried us was when it started getting dark and we hadn't found Hannah and nobody had seen her."
It was a happy ending for Edenglen Primary School after a Grade One learner went missing from the school at the start of July.
The alarm was raised when the learner, Hannah Agoro, was not at her usual spot where her transport driver collects her.
The driver alerted Hannah’s parents, which saw Edenglen staff, learners and parents jump into action to try to find the girl.
“As a parent, I was amazed at how quickly the school responded,” said the head of Edenglen Primary School’s school governing body, Tracey Hack.
“Security teams were notified and teachers were deployed by the principal to nearby shopping centres with a picture of the missing child to see if she could even be located in the shopping aisles.”
Principal Heather Broodryk said everyone available at the school was mobilised to find Hannah.
“Normally, after an hour we find the children as they might be watching soccer or playing with their friends.
“What worried us was when it started getting dark and we hadn’t found Hannah and nobody had seen her.”
Heather said it was a team effort to find Hannah, with children, parents, teachers, security companies and the transport company assisting.
After reviewing CCTV footage, Hannah’s teacher identified her suitcase and footage of her leaving the school.
“We saw a little girl who was playing in the area Hannah was in and we contacted her father,” said Heather.
The girl’s father told the school he would go home to see if Hannah was with his daughter.
Heather explained that Hannah had gotten into another transport with her friend and was playing at her house until 6pm.
She said it was a concern because nobody knew where she was and she hadn’t informed anyone of her whereabouts.
“It was a massive relief to find her because you get that sick feeling and ask yourself what if something happened to the child.
“Hannah’s parents were relieved to have their daughter back. They told me this was so unlike her as she is responsible, reliable, and always communicated with them.”
She said the school does have security measures in place, but nothing is full proof.
Heather highlighted the need for parents to know who their children play with and talk to their children about not getting in vehicles with strangers.
She encouraged parents to introduce a code word system so that if a child is picked up by a stranger the code word needs to be exchanged before the child gets in the vehicle.
During her 10 years at the school, Heather said this was the first incident of this nature to occur.
Tracey said she was amazed by the commitment, love and concern that were shown by the principal and staff of the school.
She applauded the school for how the situation was handled.
