Begging minors a hazard for motorists
I Care and other stakeholders held a street awareness campaign at the intersection of Sandile Thusi and Mathews Meyiwa Roads recently.
MINORS begging at the intersection of Mathews Meyiwa (Stmfordhill) Road and Sandile Thusi (Argyle) Road were the subject of a recent street awareness campaign by I Care and other stakeholders which included SAPS, Metro Police, the Department of Social Development, Durban Child Welfare and Safer Cities.
Gail Elson from I Care said the little children who beg at this intersection and dart in-between the traffic, especially during school holidays, posed a danger not only to themselves but to motorists as well.
Anne Slatter, also from I Care said the aim of the group at the awareness campaign was to take note of who was at the intersection as a first intervention and to educate SAPS and Metro on how to remove the begging children successfully. “The third phase is law enforcement, where we take the children away and arrest the adults,” she said.
Gail said they were hoping that having Social Development, Child Welfare, I Care and law enforcement working together, that they could make a difference.
“We urge motorists to stop giving the beggars money,” she said.
ALSO READ: Safety of beggars a concern
A motorist recently appealed to Berea Mail to highlight the problem of young children being used by adults to beg at this intersection saying he was concerned someone was going to get run over. He said the women who claimed to be the ‘mothers’ who forced the children beg in traffic were guilty of child abuse. “I informed Metro Police and Child Welfare many weeks ago, but nothing has changed, in fact it has gotten worse,” he said.
Begging at this intersection has been raised by Berea Mail on previous occasions. During the December school holidays, a number of motorists and residents raised their concerns about the dangerous activitiy which led to Heather Rorick of Bulwer Safety and Urban Regeneration Forum, appealing to Metro Police to act.
“This intersection has been a huge concern for a number of years. This is a busy intersection, vehicles also speed in this area, and having these tiny children of around three to five years of age running backwards and forwards across this busy road, and bopping in and out of traffic to beg, is unacceptable. Motorists cannot see the children who are not visible either in front, side or behind their vehicle at this intersection. They may even swerve to avoid a child and end up killing other innocent people and themselves,” she said.
Responding to these concerns, ward councillor Martin Meyer said the action was a clear violation of the city’s bylaws, and more seriously, of the Child Protection Act. “The parents, if these people are even the real parents of these children, are violating the law,” he said.
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