Protect Cambodian Children from Brain Injury

Road safety school groups inspire their community to be safer road users

Last month, 18 schools from Phnom Penh, Kandal, and Kampong Speu completed disseminating road safety messages as part of a “schools of excellence” competition to raise road safety awareness.

Throughout the year, school groups arranged road safety murals and distributed materials to help improve road safety behavior and their school’s surrounding infrastructure. To take part in the competition, students and teachers received road safety education training.

In August, an award committee, comprised of representatives from the National Road Safety Committee, National Police, Ministry of Education, and AIP Foundation evaluated the 18 schools. The committee reviewed relevant documents and interviewed teachers and students. Afterwards, the committee surveyed the area around the school to observe school murals, the surrounding infrastructure, and safety materials available for students to cross the road.

After gathering the necessary information, the committee will provide information to AIP Foundation to determine the outstanding school in each participating province and to track its progress the following year. Evaluating successful schools is important in developing improved implementation guidelines and to determine best practices in order to cultivate safe road environments for all students.

AIP Foundation gathers stakeholders from across Cambodia to discuss passenger helmet enforcement

AIP Foundation held its second nationwide stakeholder workshop as part of the “Head Safe. Helmet On.” project. The purpose of the workshop was to discuss the enforcement of the passenger helmet law, especially to include children, scheduled to begin from January 1st, 2016.

The workshop gathered approximately 30 participants from government institutions and the private sector. Among the attendees were representatives of the General Secretariat of the National Road Safety Committee and of the Department of Order, Ministry of Interior. At the event, AIP Foundation presented information on the project’s recent progress, challenges faced thus far, and recommendations for the second year of the initiative.

Group discussions focused on the law and its sub-decree that mandates penalties for un-helmeted passengers, and particularly the importance of including children in the new traffic law. Also discussed were the national- and district-level passenger helmet enforcement action plans, which are currently in their draft phase.

AIP Foundation hosts second commune-wide meeting on road safety

Under the “Head Safe. Helmet On.” (HSHO) project, AIP Foundation organized a second commune-wide meeting which attracted 45 participants in Chba Ampov District, Phnom Penh. The participants included commune road safety groups from the three targeted communes, district governmental officials, and media representatives.

At the meeting, AIP Foundation reviewed commune-based activity plans and presented the progress, challenges, and recommendations for future HSHO activities. Chba Ampov’s District Governor attended and gave welcoming remarks to participants, delivering key messages for group discussion and highlighted the importance of promoting a better road safety environment.

Police visit students on International Children’s Day to emphasize safe road behaviors

Traffic police in Cambodia visited schools on June 1 to speak to students about road safety for International Children’s Day. Five police officers visited each of AIP Foundation’s 18 project schools under the “Head Safe. Helmet On.” project to discuss proper pedestrian and road user safety, including helmet use and the importance of wearing a helmet.

In total, 90 police officers visited students at schools over three weeks. “On this special day, we highlight the important value children have in our society as well as their vulnerability as road users. We are grateful for the opportunity to demonstrate to students how important their health and safety is,” said Mr. Ky Koun Cham Bak, School Principal.

In addition to motorcycle safety and correct helmet use, police officers instructed students on proper pedestrian and bicycle safety skills. Students and officers participated in a traffic safety simulation corner near schools to practice these skills in a safe environment.

International Children's Day is observed across the world to promote the welfare of children. “Children have the right to protection, health, and safety, including safety from road crashes. It is our duty to ensure the children understand how to stay safe when commuting on the roads and it is our responsibility to provide this education,” said Mr. Say Set, Samrong Torng District police.

Road safety education focuses on mothers and their children

AIP Foundation organized a second “Mothers and Helmet Use” forum at Anuk Wat Primary School. Mothers received information on their role in promoting road safety and encouraging helmet use among family members. The forum is a component of the Helmets for Families project sponsored by Manulife.

Mothers learned about the impacts of road crashes on society and their families, the relationship between helmet use and injury prevention, and received information about the new Road Traffic Law. Students also received this information at a police training on June 25. On June 19 and 26, volunteers reached the community surrounding the school to further spread road safety awareness. These additional activities helped to reinforce key messages to children and their families.

“This includes traveling on the roads. Our project engages mothers to ensure the entire family supports the life-saving benefits of wearing a helmet. We want mothers to remind their children to be safe on the roads, and children to do the same to their families,” said Mr. Pagna Kim, AIP Foundation Country Director in Cambodia. “We encourage every parent to obey the traffic law and always keep your children safe with a helmet.”

“I believe if every parent knew this essential information— that practicing safe road behaviors and wearing proper helmets can save lives—more children would have helmets on. We want to engage as many parents as possible to be role models for their children. Protect your children’s’ lives: parents, put a helmet on your child,” said said Mr. Hem Chalna Representative of Department of Order from Commissariat of National Police.

Mid-term assessment on behavior change campaign starts 

AIP Foundation started a mid-term assessment to measure the effectiveness of its campaign to affect positive changes in the knowledge, attitude, and practice of motorcycle passengers across three target provinces in Cambodia – Kandal, Kampong Speu, and Phnom Penh. The behavior change assessment comes after one year of the “Head Safe. Helmet On.” project implementation and is scheduled to take place from the end of July to early September 2015. More than 400 respondents from the target provinces will participate in the assessment. Its findings will be used to inform the project’s second year and improve commercials and other communication materials.

Links:

• AIP Foundation