Protect Cambodian Children from Brain Injury

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to prevent students from attending in-person classes. While school-based activities have been limited during this reporting period,  AIP Foundation continues to focus its efforts on pushing for legislative changes that ensure safer school zones for Cambodian children. 

Continuing the dialogue set forth by the 6th UN Global Road Safety Week in May, we are actively contributing to the drafting of the new Cambodian Road Traffic Law that can provide better protection to vulnerable road users -- including students. In addition to promoting awareness about speed reduction, AIP Foundation is advocating with Cambodian government to set the maximum speed limit to 30km per hour for all types of vehicles around school zones, an initiative which was supported in principle by the Secretary General of the National Road Safety Committee at a Coordination Meeting between the government and non-government stakeholders held in 2020. In addition to quality helmets playing a significant role in reducing the risk of serious injury and fatality in the event of a crash, a 5% cut in average vehicle speed can result in a 30% reduction in fatal crashes. 

As our approach to social change entails targeting road safety comprehensively, we not only engage with our beneficiaries, but also with policy makers, our community and relevant stakeholders that can amplify our cause. Please click here to see how you can make your impact on safer roads for Cambodian children. 

From December 2020 to May 2021, as part of our Helmets for Families program in Cambodia, AIP Foundation organized numerous activities to increase community helmet use and road safety knowledge through a training workshop to empower teachers to become road safety models. Educational murals were painted around school gates and walls to encourage helmet use and safe practices among students. Parents, students and relevant stakeholders were engaged in both the training workshop and educational murals.

Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 situation in Cambodia with its 4th wave of outbreaks in February 2021, AIP Foundation continues its efforts to make roads safer for the communities in Cambodia. In addition to various activities implemented to make commuting safe for Cambodian workers, AIP Foundation joined global efforts to raise awareness on road safety, particularly among children and their parents. During the 6th UN Global Road Safety Week from May 17 to May 23, AIP Foundation worked closely with schools and target communities to implement road safety awareness activities. Training was conducted for students about the importance of helmets and speed limits. Together with strengthening commitment from government stakeholders and the local communities for active participation to protect Cambodian children from road crashes and brain injuries, AIP Foundation also campaigned for the additional action to protect children in Cambodia from brain injuries resulting from road crashes and the 30km/h speed limit around school zones. 

The journey to improve road safety for children is one that needs continuous attention and engagement. Read on to know more about our activities across Asia to advocate for safer roads, and what we can achieve together.

UN Global Road Safety Week 2021: A global celebration with a united message

Links:

• https://www.aip-foundation.org/un-global-road-safety-week-2021-a-global-celebration-with-a-united-message/

The road crash crisis is affected by numerous factors, such as road user behavior, road safety management, the constructed environment, and the accessibility of safe vehicles and protective equipment. In Cambodia, AIP Foundation delivers quality helmets to children located in at-risk schools, often in dangerous traffic environments that endanger students on their way to school every day—building up their road safety knowledge through in-class education and promoting their access to protective equipment to reduce their risk of serious head injury or death during every ride. In light of the complexity of improving road safety for vulnerable communities, the solutions that partners invest their time, funding, and energy in must span sectors and focus areas. These solutions include improving road safety education for students and their teachers, sharing key informative messages to the community through creative forms and media, and working with local partners to encourage safer behaviors in their community. 

In Cambodia, AIP Foundation has spent the past several months empowering local educators, building up road safety leaders among youth in our communities, and working with schools to paint educational and awareness-raising murals to encourage students to wear a helmet each and every time they ride a bicycle or motorcycle. 

Together, we can work to ensure local communities and partners have access to the resources, knowledge, and skills they need to protect themselves and their loved ones on their journeys on the roads. Read on to learn more about what we have achieved to promote child helmet safety to save lives and prevent injuries in Cambodia over these past few months. 

AIP Foundation distributing a certificate of completion following participation in road safety training to University educator in Phnom Penh.

Educators from O Ambel Primary School brainstorming ideas on encouraging better road safety practices amongst their students.

Road trauma is the leading global cause of death for children and youth over the age of five. It is not an isolated cause, but one, which co-exists, affects and is affected by many other causes like the COVID-19 pandemic. AIP Foundation has been working diligently to bridge the gaps between different causes with different groups in the community.

In Cambodia, as traffic increases so too are the risks of road injuries and community transmission of COVID-19. Through our Safety Delivered program, our Youth Ambassadors for Road Safety at Prek Leap National College of Agriculture hit the streets by handing out informative materials and helmets to educate their peers and the public on road crash prevention. 

Read below for more information:

Each year, for International Children's Day, AIP Foundation joins parents, teachers, and communities around the world in celebrating the safety and well-being of the children in our lives. With each passing year also comes the reminder of our collective duty and responsibility to create a world that is safer for children, so they can work towards brighter futures and fulfill their highest potential. 

At AIP Foundation, we understand that protecting children and youth will require the involvement of all sectors of society to make the world's roads safer. Only in working together can we protect children on every journey to and from school, ensuring that they can get back safely to their families. Through smart and responsible investments, public education, awareness-raising, and partnerships across society, we can work towards a world where each International Children's Day celebrates a world where children do not face harm or injury on the roads. 

The changes towards a world with safer roads may begin small, but collectively, we can work to promote broad shifts in the behavior of road users and in the priorities of governments. Let us remember that we can do more for the children in our lives and for their friends and peers across the globe. 

Please read on to see how AIP Foundation is working to progress to a world with safer roads for young students and children in Cambodia.

Children reading banners with road crash prevention messages in front of primary school in Phnom Penh.

Students reminded of life-saving road behaviors in Cambodia during International Children’s Day 

June 1, 2020

In celebration of International Children’s Day, AIP Foundation hung long banners with messages reminding students of life-saving behaviors, such as helmet-wearing, in front of school gates at four primary schools in Phnom Penh. The banners also featured messages directed towards parents about the dangers of speeding and distracted driving.

These educational activities follow donations of nearly 2,000 helmets to students and teachers at Chey Chumneas, Chbar Ampov 2, Hangor Sraschok, and Kean Kleang Primary School, in December 2019 and January 2020.  The initial results of our donations surpassed our expectations with average helmet use rates across the schools, originally near zero, increasing to 58 percent.  

To support behavior change and enforcement, AIP Foundation partners with university students who serve as Youth Ambassadors for Road Safety through our Safety Delivered program, empowering them as positive road safety role models.

Passage of Increased Fines for Road Traffic Laws in Cambodia in Effect May 2020

May 1, 2020

The Cambodian government recently amended its Sub-Decree on Fines on Road Traffic Offenses, taking effect May 1, 2020. The amendment increases traffic fines by three to five times their previous amounts for offenses such as failure to wear a helmet, speeding, ignoring traffic signs, failing a sobriety test, and using a mobile phone while driving, among other violations.

Police records during the first 31 days of the enforcement of the amended sub-decree reveal that hand-held mobile phone use accounted for over 1% of issued fines on motorcyclists, and over 8.6% of fines on four-wheeled vehicle drivers. To enforce the updated laws, the government has trained 3,919 police personnel on the new regulations.

AIP Foundation has been a strong advocate for stricter traffic laws and enforcement in Cambodia, where it has launched several road safety interventions targeting high-risk road behaviors. Since 2017, the organization’s Safety Delivered program has focused on addressing mobile phone use, helmets, speeding, seatbelts, and drink driving, including a series of street-based awareness campaigns in partnership with the Cambodia Traffic Police and with university students serving as Youth Ambassadors for Road Safety.

AIP Foundation continues to support efforts to protect vulnerable road users in Cambodia by improving traffic enforcement and legislation, including working with the National Road Safety Committee to discuss action plans for decreasing road fatalities nationwide, engaging traffic police in our road safety activities with students, and training university educators on the importance of improving youth driving behaviors. 

Mothers in Battambang, Cambodia, learned about road traffic laws and the importance of safe road behaviors during major upcoming holidays, such as Khmer New Year.

Engaging Mothers on International Women's Day for Road Safety Forum in Cambodia

March 4, 2020

In celebration of International Women’s Day, AIP Foundation organized a helmet-use forum for 40 mothers of students at Onlong Vil Primary School in Battambang, Cambodia. Educating parents of students at target schools on the importance of helmet use is a vital part of the Helmets for Families program, supported by Manulife Cambodia.

At the forum, mothers received information on the impact of road crashes on society and their families, the relationship between helmet use and injury prevention, and their valuable role in encouraging helmet use in their families. Additionally, the mothers learned about road traffic laws in Cambodia and the importance of safe road behaviors during major holidays, such as the upcoming Khmer New Year, when the amount of road traffic and the likelihood of road crashes increases. 

Following the forum, 600 students from Onlong Vil Primary School also received training on road safety through extracurricular activities and games, in which students learned the importance of helmet use and learned how to read traffic signs, cross the road safely, and properly ride on a motorcycle with their parents.

The Helmets for Families program donated 1,238 helmets to teachers, students, and parents of Onlong Vil Primary School in December 2019. In the coming months, the Helmets for Families will continue to implement other activities at Onlong Vil Primary School to promote helmet use knowledge, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, General Commiserate of National Police, and National Road Safety Committee.

See more photos from the road safety forum here.