Child Protection Cambodia Project #15183

Protect Cambodian Children from Brain Injury

by AIP Foundation

Project Report | Nov 26, 2014
Making Strides and Saving Lives with "Head Safe. Helmet On."

By Minh Nguyen | Development Assistant

Protec Helmet Factory in Soc Son, Vietnam

The number of road crash fatalities and injuries have dramatically surged in recent years due to rapid motorization. Road crashes in Cambodia kill nine times more people annually than malaria, dengue fever, HIV/AIDS, and landmines combined.

AIP Foundation’s “Head Safe. Helmet On.” project aims to stem the toll of road crashes by increasing passenger helmet use in Cambodia. This two-year project has three main components: provision of quality helmets and road safety education to school children and teachers; public awareness campaigns; and government advocacy for the passage and enforcement of the passenger helmet law. We have achieved great progress with "Head Safe. Helmet On." over the past three months.

Cambodian officials visit Hanoi helmet labs to deliberate building centers in Cambodia

This past October, AIP Foundation coordinated meetings in Hanoi between Cambodian and Vietnamese senior government officials. Officials discussed and shared best practices on road safety management, helmet quality standards, and helmet use enforcement. During this visit, Cambodian officials visited Protec, AIP Foundation’s non-profit helmet factory. The officials toured Protec’s helmet factory and testing laboratory in Hanoi as well as the Vietnamese government’s helmet testing center. Cambodian officials learned about the establishment and maintenance of helmet testing centers in Vietnam to determine the feasibility of building a similar facility in Cambodia. The Cambodian draft traffic law, which mandates helmet wearing for all motorcycle passengers, is expected to be enacted in 2015. A helmet laboratory in Cambodia would be imperative to increase helmet use across the country.

200 participants attend the National Assembly’s Parliamentary Consultative Workshop

On October 21st, the Ninth Commission of National Assembly held a Parliamentary Consultative Workshop on the “Law on Road Traffic” at the National Assembly in Phnom Penh. At the workshop, Mr. Kim Pagna, AIP Foundation’s Cambodia Country Director, presented the following study: “Cost and Life Savings Analysis if the Passenger Helmet Law is passed and enforced by 2014.” The plenary session of the workshop was attended by approximately 200 participants, including Members of Parliament, Senate, government and civil society representatives, and youth group affiliates. The workshop raised awareness of the draft road traffic law and the importance of road safety.

AIP Foundation hosts commune-wide meetings to deepen the discussion on the "Head Safe. Helmet On." project

AIP Foundation organized the first round of commune-wide meetings in the “Head Safe. Helmet On.” target districts from November 13th to 28th. Commune council members, commune secretaries, school teachers, commune police, and private sector partners attended the meetings. Commune representatives were introduced to and updated on the project, and began developing local road safety action plans which will improve passenger and child helmet behavior in their communities. The meetings aimed to establish a Commune-Based Road Safety Working Group in all 18 target communes, which will coordinate and implement activities on road safety and helmet use at the commune level.

Thank you for supporting the “Protect Cambodian Children from Brain Injury” project. Without your help, these achievements with "Head Safe. Helmet On." would not have been possible.

With your continued support, AIP Foundation can persevere towards reducing the detrimental, yet preventable number of head injuries and fatalities that plague Cambodian children. Please contact Chelsea Gaviola (Development Coordinator) from AIP Foundation at chelsea.gaviola@aipf-vietnam.org with your ideas on how we can work together to boost awareness and attract more champions to this cause.

National Assembly's "Law on Road Traffic" Workshop

Target communes discuss project implementation

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Aug 29, 2014
Improving Road Safety Knowledge of Cambodian Students, Parents, and Community Members

By Chelsea Gaviola | AIP Foundation Development Coordinator

Thank you for supporting AIP Foundation's efforts to Protect Cambodian Children from Brain Injury. Please see the attached file for our full progress report from June to August 2014.

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There are many opportunities over the summer for students, parents, and community members to exercise the road safety knowledge that they gained from AIP Foundation’s school year activities. In June, July, and August 2014, AIP Foundation organized several road safety awareness events in Cambodia.

Students

Thanks to your support, AIP Foundation’s Helmets for Kids project in Cambodia reached 2,760 primary school students at three schools in Kandal and Kampong Speu provinces. These children received high-quality helmets and road safety education. The results from this project surpassed expectations, with average helmet use rates across the schools surging from nearly zero to 86 percent by the end of the school year. Students had opportunities to practice their road safety knowledge by participating in interactive activities led by traffic police. These activities equipped children with life-saving skills and prepared them to be safer road users.

Parents

A forum titled “My mom and helmet use” took place at Wat Preah Put Primary School to motivate mothers to educate their children on road safety. At the forum, fifty mothers were educated on the consequences of road crashes and how helmets protect individuals from preventable head injury and death. Mothers expressed their concerns and shared their stories on helmet safety. At the end of the forum, parents pledged that they would remind their children to always wear a helmet when traveling via motorcycle or bicycle.

The Community

Engaging the public is an important part of AIP Foundation’s advocacy efforts.AIP Foundation staff and volunteers reached hundreds of people in the surrounding communities of the Wat Preah Put Primary School. Materials were developed and distributed to educate community members on the importance of wearing a helmet and the dangerous traffic situation in Cambodia. Posters were hung strategically in popular communal areas. Volunteers informed the community of the upcoming traffic law, which will make helmet use mandatory for all passengers. AIP Foundation is placing great effort in advocating for this law.

Moving Forward

Attachments:

Improving Road Safety Knowledge in the Community (PDF)

1 Attachment

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May 29, 2014
Education & Community Outreach Programs are Preventing Road Traffic Crashes

By Madeleine Carr | Advocacy & Strategic Planning Advisor

National Road Safety Week

In the first quarter of 2014, AIP Foundation Cambodia have been actively involved in a number of school and community outreach projects to promote safe driving behaviors, helmet use and general road safety. For International Women’s Day, AIP Foundation arranged a mother’s forum at a target primary school to share information related road safety and participants were invited to share their experiences, express concerns and discuss ideas to improve their and their children’s safety.

The 7^th Annual National Road Safety Week also fell in this period and was a perfect time for AIP Foundation to promote road safety activities through a range of online, educational and community outreach activities. The focus of activities was on helmet use for young motorcyclists including child passengers and promoting safe driving behaviors. AIP Foundation Country Director supported the official launch of National Road Safety Week with the donation of 150 helmets and the delivery of a speech to encourage people to take care on the roads.

Holiday periods, including the Khmer New Year (April 13-15) in Cambodia are traditionally a high risk time to be travelling on the roads with many crashes occurring. To address this problem, AIP Foundation delivered extracurricular road safety lessons to students at a target school in Phnom Penh to arm them with knowledge and skills just prior to the Khmer New Year holiday. More than 150 student took part in the lessons that included a re-cap on road rules, helmet use, pedestrian safety and other interactive games. The activities aim to create enthusiasm among students so they will strive to exercise safe road behaviors every day.

High school students at sponsored schools were invited to attend workshops on “Helmet Use and National Road Safety Policy” that aimed to share information, communicate the purpose of the National Road Safety Policy and encourage students to be active in the field of road safety. More than 900 students all up participated in these workshops and all were encouraged to share the information disseminated with their family, peers and friends.

Over the next few months, AIP will continue to work closely with schools on road safety education programs, awareness raising campaigns and partnering with donors, supporters and traffic police to deliver life-saving skills and knowledge to Cambodians. Over 800 helmets more will be donated to primary school students in Kandal and Kampong Speu provinces. Through our activities, we can make a difference and prevent injuries and fatalities on the roads.

Extra-curricular activity

Mother's Forum

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