Supporting Child Safety
Child safety is very important to us at Woolworths, which is why The Woolworths Trust has donated almost R1.5 million to the Children's Hospital Trust towards the building of the first Childsafe Centre in Africa.
According to in-depth research done by South African NGO, Childsafe - a staggering number of accidents that injure children are recorded every year, many of which could have been avoided by taking simple safety precautions.
The Woolworths Childsafe Research and Educational Centre
The Woolworths Childsafe and Educational Centre provides much-needed space and resources for Childsafe to continue doing research and coordinating educational and skills training programmes for child safety.
It has been designed to include a Safety Demonstration Room, a model of the ideal design and furniture needed to create a child-friendly environment. “Our research has shown that about 80% of child injuries occur around the home. The Safety Demonstration Room will be used to give the general public useful tips on how to prevent easily avoidable child injuries at home,” says Childsafe President and Head of the Trauma Unit at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital, Professor Sebastian Van As.
Sam Ngumeni, Woolworths Chief Operating Officer and Chairperson of the Woolworths Trust, says, “Addressing child safety is a key focus of The Woolworths Trust, and working with Childsafe has been incredibly rewarding. They have made great strides in creating a safer South Africa for children with their research, workshops and government engagement.”