16 days of activism, 16 stories of hope

16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, an international campaign to challenge violence against women and children, launched on 25 November 2018 and runs until 10 December. To mark this year’s campaign, Missing Children South Africa (MCSA) will share a positive story every day for the 16 days with its #16Survivors for #16DaysOfActivism campaign.

The campaign encompasses 16 positive stories of women and children found or assisted by MCSA that will be shared daily on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to raise awareness and drive funds. Each story is based on a true experience and allows the viewer to learn tips on how to keep themselves and their children safe.

MCSA was established in 2007 in an effort to assist and support families whose children or loved ones have gone missing. They work closely with the South African Police Service in finding people and creating national awareness.

The first 24 hours after a person goes missing are the most crucial, and with 1697 children going missing every year, the quicker you begin the search, the more chance there is of a positive outcome. The figures released by SAPS Missing Persons Bureau for 2013, also confirm that a child goes missing every five hours. Thanks to the work MCSA is doing, 77% of these children are found. But this still leaves us with the 23% who are not located.

Bianca van Aswegen, National Coordinator at MCSA says “Our mission is to give parents and guardians the skills they need to keep themselves and their children safe, like what to look out for and simple daily activities that could assist in the recovery of a child. For example, always have an updated photograph of your child available, and take note of what they are wearing when you go out into a public space. We would like to see that 77% recovery stat increase to 100%. But we also want parents to understand that time is of the essence.”

MCSA is calling on South Africans to get involved by sharing the daily posts with their networks and to donate R25 to Missing Children SA by SMSing the word ‘MCSA’ to 41006. This will assist in finding more people and creating more survivor stories.

Where to watch the campaign and share:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MissingChildrenSouthAfrica/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/072MISSING

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missingchildrensa/

For more information on MCSA, visit www.missingchildren.org.za