One number can bring a child home.
CSNN Pakistan supports the Zainab Alert public-awareness message: teach every child to remember the mobile number of at least one parent or trusted guardian.
A child who knows one trusted phone number carries a direct line back to safety. It is a small lesson, but in a crowded place or an emergency, it may change everything.
A message to every parent
Teach the number before it is ever needed.
The central appeal is practical, immediate and easy for families to repeat at home. A child should be able to recall the mobile number of at least one parent or trusted guardian without relying on a device.
- 01Choose one primary family contact number.
- 02Repeat it regularly until the child recalls it confidently.
- 03Explain when and how to share it with police or a trusted adult.
My name is Dawid Szabłowski, Ambassador at Large and Founder and Global Editor-in-Chief of Civil Society News Network. Today, I would like to address an issue of exceptional importance—one so serious that words alone may not be enough to express its significance.
Reports of missing and separated children remind us that child protection cannot be treated as an occasional concern. It requires public awareness, rapid institutional response and simple preventive habits inside every family.
In response to this challenge, the Citizens–Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) Sindh, working with Sindh Police, developed the Zainab Alert application and awareness framework for missing and found children. CPLC states that the multilingual application may be used across all four provinces of Pakistan and that information submitted through it is shared with relevant law-enforcement authorities.
A small lesson with life-saving potential
One of the campaign’s most powerful messages is also one of its simplest: every child should memorize the mobile phone number of at least one parent or trusted guardian. This basic step can make a decisive difference when a child is separated from family members, becomes lost in a crowd or needs help during an emergency.
We have all seen how quickly families can become separated in markets, shopping centres, transport hubs, festivals, religious gatherings and other crowded public spaces. In the first moments after separation, a child may be frightened, disoriented or unable to explain where their family is.
When children do not remember a parent’s phone number, police officers, security personnel or responsible citizens may find it more difficult to reconnect them with their families. The longer a child remains separated and unsupported, the greater the risk of harm or exploitation by people with criminal intentions.
Choose
Select the mobile number of one parent or trusted guardian who can usually be reached quickly.
Repeat
Practise the number regularly, in a calm and age-appropriate way, until recall becomes confident.
Explain
Teach the child to seek police, security staff or another clearly identifiable trusted adult in an emergency.
Public awareness must become family practice
The awareness effort promoted by CPLC Sindh through Zainab Alert deserves recognition because it translates a complex public-safety challenge into a clear action that families can take today. Campaign billboards and digital materials carry a message that is easy to understand, easy to repeat and potentially critical in the first minutes after a child goes missing.
Awareness, however, becomes effective only when it is converted into practice. Parents and guardians should not assume that a child will remember a number after hearing it once. It should be repeated over time and checked gently in everyday conversation. Younger children may learn it through rhythm, grouping digits or a simple family routine.
Zainab Alert · CPLC Sindh
CSNN Pakistan coverage
A direct appeal to parents
I would like to make a heartfelt request to every parent and guardian: teach your child to memorize your mobile phone number from an early age. Repeat it with them until they can recall it confidently. Explain that if they ever become lost or face an emergency, they should share that number with a police officer, security official or another trusted adult who can help them reconnect with their family.
This measure does not replace immediate reporting, police intervention, the use of official alert systems or responsible adult supervision. It strengthens the child’s ability to communicate when normal safeguards have failed.
“Together, by taking this small but meaningful step, we can help create a safer future for our children.”H.E. Dawid Szabłowski · Founder & Global Editor-in-Chief, CSNN
Child protection is not the responsibility of one institution alone. It requires cooperation among parents, schools, police, public authorities, media, civil society and responsible citizens. Zainab Alert provides an important mechanism; public education helps that mechanism reach families before an emergency occurs.
CSNN Pakistan supports awareness initiatives that give communities clear, responsible and practical tools to protect children. The message of this campaign should be repeated in homes, schools and community spaces throughout Pakistan: one remembered number may become a child’s route back to safety.
PAKISTAN Public-interest media · Child protection
CSNN Pakistan Editorial Position
This publication is issued as a public-interest child-safety feature within the CSNN Pakistan editorial line. It supports responsible awareness, family preparedness and cooperation with legitimate public-safety and law-enforcement mechanisms. CSNN Pakistan recognizes the contribution of CPLC Sindh and Sindh Police to the Zainab Alert initiative and encourages parents to combine preventive education with prompt reporting whenever a child is missing.
