Phatu Madima with the bag designed by The Movement.
An extra measure of protection to curb the spate of violence against women and children has been founded in Tembisa in the form of a backpack with a built-in panic button. And even though it may not be foolproof, it could save many lives.
Following a number of kidnappings, a group of five local youths have decided to use their creative juices and designed a school bag that has a panic button attached to it, reports Tembisan.
According to Phatu Madima, one of the co-founders of the group, who call themselves The Movement, this specially designed bag has a sim card and a caller option that sends the location of the victim.
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“The bag has a panic button that can alert either the child’s parents once pressed during an attack, or husband or your partner when in trouble.
“Once the panic button has been pressed by anyone in trouble, the signal from the bag’s data sends their location to the cellphone that is linked with the sim card on the bag,” explained Madima.
Madima believes that this bag is what the country needs to help fight the ever-increasing rate of child-snatching and kidnappings of women.
“We would like to believe this is an answer we all have been waiting for. We are not saying the bag will stop the kidnappings, but we are certain it will help decrease the scourge and maybe save many lives. When we were designing this bag, our focus and energy was on children and that is why we designed it in that fashion, so it would be easier for children to carry it and also easily press the panic button when attacked.”
He added that with the call option on the bag, parents can call the panic button to check on their children and monitor them.
“The reason we created this bag was because of the escalating rate of abuse against children and women, and it is befitting that we launch this bag during the month of November, which is also known as the month of activism against women and children abuse.
“So, with this bag, we are hoping to save lives.”
He further said making the bag was not easy, as they faced many challenges along the way, such as lack of finances and support from big players in the technology space.
“We actually did everything from our own pockets, relying on parents’ pocket money. But we finally made it and we are looking for anyone or companies who want to help us or invest in this unique idea to come forward and help us,” he concluded.
The group can be contacted on 067 164 7259.
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