A survivor of gender-based violence has developed a web based emergency reporting platform geared toward chopping response occasions for victims of crime and medical emergencies, notably in rural communities the place entry to assist stays uneven and delays might be lethal.
Mapula Mailula (29), from Ga-Maja village outdoors Polokwane, launched the Crime Emergency Utility (CEA) in December 2025. The online-based platform permits customers to report incidents or request emergency help with the faucet of a button, whereas robotically sharing their real-time location with responders. Customers don’t want to jot down an incident report on the platform.
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Mailula says the thought grew out of her personal childhood expertise of abuse and repeated struggles to get assist for the reason that age of ten. “Between 2007 and 2011, I used to be bodily abused by somebody near me and sometimes couldn’t clarify my location clearly sufficient for the police to succeed in me shortly. Ready for help felt limitless, and the reminiscence stayed with me into maturity,” she says.
The platform is designed to be used on smartphones with cell information. After registering, customers can report crime, gender-based violence or theft, or request an ambulance utilizing a panic button. In keeping with Mailula, the system sends GPS coordinates on to an emergency providers dashboard and confirms that the report has been acquired.
She says requests are routed to police, hospitals, hearth and rescue items and paramedics. “ER24 is already built-in into the system, whereas agreements with different emergency providers are nonetheless being finalised,” she says.
Mailula says gradual emergency response occasions, notably in rural areas contribute to preventable deaths from trauma, violence and medical emergencies. Limpopo’s extensively dispersed settlements, poor street infrastructure and patchy community protection compound the issue, typically leaving sufferers and households struggling to explain their areas to name centre operators.
“The CEA is meant to handle these boundaries by eradicating the necessity for prolonged explanations. I’m at present ready for police to pilot and check the system throughout the Capricorn District Municipality. If profitable, the platform might later be used nationally for reporting instances to police, whereas ambulance requests via ER24 are already obtainable throughout the nation,” she says.
She tells Well being-e Information that the platform additionally features a “whistleblower” possibility that can be utilized with out registration, permitting bystanders to report suspected abuse or emergencies. A newsfeed characteristic supplies customers with alerts about crime and questions of safety in unfamiliar areas.
Mailula says specific consideration has been paid to creating the system usable by individuals who might not be capable to converse throughout an emergency, together with youngsters, older folks and victims of home violence.
One consumer says the system has already made a distinction. Polokwane resident Geneva Serage used the portal in December 2025 to request an ambulance for her grandmother after experiencing repeated delays with conventional emergency name centres up to now.
“Emergency personnel known as me again nearly instantly and I didn’t have to elucidate my location, which I consider saved time. With the normal system, I’d look forward to greater than two hours for an ambulance and must give them instructions and sooner or later look forward to them at a specific location to allow them to spot me,” she says.
Mailula hopes partnerships with authorities and personal suppliers will strengthen the system over time.
“For now, the service operates as a web based portal, whereas approvals from the Play Retailer and Apple App Retailer are pending.”
In a province the place distance and infrastructure proceed to form who receives well timed care, she believes know-how may help slim the hole between emergency and response. — Well being-e Information
