A healthy baby girl made her unexpected arrival at Camps Bay beach on 2 January with the assistance of staff and volunteers from the City of Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management Centre.
At about 11:15, an Identikidz staff member asked for assistance with a young woman in labour.
DRM volunteers Marylin Afrika, Rahdee Salie, Judith Henn and Aaliyah Anthony assessed the situation and found the baby was already crowning.
The team then assisted the mom with the delivery of the baby and ensured both mom and baby could wait undisturbed until paramedics arrived.
‘Our teams are on duty every day over the holiday season for any emergency and to assist beach goers. This new year surprise has provided a little extra festive cheer. We commend our volunteers for staying cool under pressure and helping the mom give birth. Our staff have quite the track record in helping bring new life into the world. It’s just more than five years ago now that two other Disaster Management staff members also helped deliver a baby in the Camps Bay area just before Christmas. On that occasion, it was a boy who was named after one of the staff members. Well done to all,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.