Protect Cambodian Children from Brain Injury

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.

Investing in the safety and lives of young students at our program schools in Cambodia is a long-term investment in the growth and resilience of their communities.

Each year, road crash injuries and fatalities disproportionately burden the youngest individuals in society. Across the world, road crashes remain the leading cause of death for children and youth aged 5-29. The lives of these children and youth are tragically cut short at a time when they are learning and working towards brighter futures. 

It is time to work towards a more sustainable future for our children and youth. Please join us in supporting positive impacts and safer behavior on the roads through education, behavioral change, and positive inspiration for youth. 

Please read on to see what the past few months have held for AIP Foundation's work with young students and children in Cambodia.  

Students participating in a performance with their brand new helmets on stage.

Protecting the lives of students and ensuring their safety on the roads requires dedicated partnerships with families, schools, and governments. These past few months, AIP Foundation has continued to work with teachers, parents, students, and stakeholders to promote broader community awareness and knowledge regarding the importance of helmet use. Through these partnerships, we have launched school-based education campaigns and helmet distributions to provide life-saving knowledge and access to safety equipment for students in Cambodia. 

At Onlong Vil Primary School in Battambang Province, Cambodia, as part of our Helmets for Families program, we worked with schools and volunteers to carry out head measurements of 60 student representatives to ensure the student beneficiaries are properly fitted for the quality helmets they will receive during the 2019-2020 school year. During the upcoming school year, we will distribute over 1,200 helmets to students, teachers, and parents at Onlong Vil Primary School. Together with students, we also painted murals on school walls to spread positive messages about road safety. Through interactive extracurricular activities which reinforce road safety messages for students, we aim to empower them to promote safer behaviors to their peers and teachers.

During the Second Annual Conference on Road Safety in Cambodia, we shared the positive results of our safe school zone campaign in Vietnam. Promoting the lives and well-being of students requires partnerships across countries and the exchange of knowledge: for the stakeholders gathered in Phnom Penh, we discussed the importance of public awareness campaigns, tailored school zone modifications, and pilot road safety e-curriculum for our work in Vietnam.

We will continue to work to leverage our partnerships and promote safer road behavior to ensure the well-being of our student beneficiaries and vulnerable road users across our program countries.  

Read on to see these partnerships in action. 

Volunteers from Manulife Cambodia and AIP Foundation staff paint a mural which reads, "Everything is for children's road safety," on school walls.

“Everything is for children’s road safety” message painted on school walls in Cambodia

November 21, 2019

In support of the Helmets for Families program, Manulife Cambodia volunteers joined AIP Foundation staff to paint murals with positive messages about road safety on the school walls at Onlong Vil Primary School, as part of a larger effort to promote helmet-wearing among students during their commutes to and from school. The students were excited to participate in the painting with the volunteers.

This activity follows helmet measurements which were taken the day before at the school. During the 2019-2020 school year, with the support of Manulife Cambodia, AIP Foundation aims to distribute over 1,200 helmets to students, teachers, and parents at Onlong Vil Primary School through the Helmets for Families program.

See more photos from the activity here.

Manulife Cambodia volunteer assists a student with proper helmet fitting at Onlong Vil Primary School.

Manulife Cambodia volunteers support AIP Foundation in conducting helmet measurements for students through Helmets for Families

These past few months at AIP Foundation have been a time for educating students, cooperating with stakeholders, and reaching out to communities in preparation for the upcoming school year. AIP Foundation recently selected four new primary schools in Phnom Penh for 2019 to 2020 Safety Delivered programming, with a total of 1,707 helmets to be distributed to students and teachers at the new schools. In August, AIP Foundation also engaged an audience of 400 people at the Manulife office in Phnom Penh, where we emphasized the importance of partnerships for saving lives and promoting helmet use in Cambodia. Read on to see how we have reached out to hundreds of community members and worked with local traffic police to protect the lives of children and promote road safety in their communities in Cambodia. 

AIP Foundation speaks to 400 at Manulife on saving lives in Cambodia 

9 August, 2019 - Phnom Penh, Cambodia

AIP Foundation Country Director, Pagna Kim, discussing road crashes within the Cambodian context during presentation at Manulife Cambodia.

Manulife Cambodia recently invited AIP Foundation Cambodia Country Director, Pagna Kim, and Cambodia Program Manager, Piseth Im, to speak to an audience of 400 people and deliver a presentation titled, "Our Road Safety Partnership: Saving Many Lives in Cambodia" at its offices in Phnom Penh. The presentation highlighted the successes of AIP Foundation's partnership with Manulife Cambodia, including results from the Helmets for Families program which began in 2012. 

The implementation of Manulife Cambodia's Helmets for Families along with changes to road traffic laws and improvements in enforcement, have contributed to an increase in helmet use and substantial reductions in fatalities and injuries. Between January-June 2014, driver deaths and injuries were reduced by 25.6%. Between January-June 2016, the rate of passenger deaths and injuries was reduced by 19.9%. 

Since 2012, Manulife Cambodia and AIP Foundation have donated 5,000 high quality helmets to students and delivered road safety education and skills to 7 schools, 5,000 students, 261 teachers, and 9,129 parents.

In addition to positive contributions made at target schools and communities, Manulife Cambodia is one of over 100 stakeholders from the private sector, civil society, and international community that has endorsed the joint policy recommendation on motorcycle passenger helmet use urging adoption and implementation of a new road traffic law that will require motorcycle passengers and children to wear helmets.

For the second year in a row, Manulife Cambodia will also support the Annual Road Safety Conference in Cambodia on September 4-5, 2019, which aims to promote more effective measures to reduce road injuries and fatalities. In recognition of their commitment to improving road safety, Manulife Cambodia has won awards at both the national and international level, including The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Leadership of the Year award from Asia Pacific Customer Service Consortium and Certificates of Appreciation from the National Road Safety Committee (NRSC) in 2018 and 2019. 

View more photos here. 

Four primary schools in Phnom Penh, Cambodia are selected for Safety Delivered Phase II

1 August-30 August, 2019 - Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The entrance of Khean Klang Primary School, one of the schools selected for program implementation in 2019.

Following the success of AIP Foundation’s Safety Delivered program, The UPS Foundation has continued to support Phase II of the program, which began implementation in April 2019 and will run through December 2020. Four additional primary schools in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, have been selected for implementation.

Two of the new program schools, Chbar Ompov 2 and Khean Klang, are set for program implementation in 2019, and Hang Ngay Srah Chak and Chey Chum Nas primary schools are set for program implementation in 2020. Across the four schools, a total of 1,707 helmets will be distributed, including 1,570 helmets donated to students, and 137 helmets for teachers.

Safety Delivered aims to reduce road crash injuries and fatalities among vulnerable motorcyclists and passengers, and young, novice drivers through three mutually reinforcing components, including university-based campaigns, public awareness campaigns, and helmet distribution and education. At the new and existing primary schools, the helmet distribution and education (HDE) component of Safety Delivered will involve the distribution of helmets to primary school students and teachers, and the implementation of educational activities to build their capacities on road safety issues.

Two of the project schools with the highest rates of students relying on motorcycles as a means of transport include Chey Chum Nas Primary School and Hang Ngay Srah Chak Primary School. Of the 795 students at Chey Chum Nas Primary School, 569 students or over 70 percent are transported to school by motorcycle. At Hang Ngay Srah Chak Primary School, which is comprised of 436 students, 338 or over 75 percent are transported to school via motorcycle. With the high percentages of students who arrive to school by motorcycle, increasing the number of students wearing helmets will be a vital component to promoting the safety of children on the roads. In addition to students, the program will also target the helmet wearing rates of teachers and community members.

Helmets for Families reaches out to 500 community members to promote public road safety awareness

18 July, 2019 - Preah Sihanouk Province, Cambodia

Manulife volunteers distributing educational materials to a motorcycle driver.

AIP Foundation and Manulife Cambodia reached out to hundreds of local community members near Hun Sen Krong Primary School to promote proper helmet use and safe driving behavior through the Helmets for Families program. Manulife Cambodia volunteers distributed educational materials to community members and strategically placed posters in high-traffic areas to encourage helmet use among local residents. 

Manulife Cambodia has supported the Helmet for Families program in Cambodia since 2012. The program targets communities and schools facing dangerous traffic environments and poor road conditions. In Veal Vong Primary School, another target school in Cambodia, Helmet for Families programming increased student knowledge of proper helmet use from 4% to 78% over the 2017-2018 school year. Through continued community outreach efforts and programmatic activities, Helmet for Families will renew its efforts over the 2018-2019 school year to reduce the vulnerability of children on the roads during their commutes to and from school. 

View more photos from the community outreach here.

Cambodian traffic police lead road safety lessons for children 

17 July, 2019- Preah Sihanouk

Police officer assisting student in proper helmet wearing technique. 

In support of AIP Foundation’s Helmets for Families program, traffic police in Preah Sihanouk Province led interactive road safety activities for students at Hun Sen Krong primary school. 

Children participated in painting contests and bicycle races, applying practical road safety education to fun activities. Manulife volunteers were also present at the event, encouraging students to share their knowledge through a road safety questionnaire. The Helmets for Families program works to increase helmet use and education amongst not only children, but also their parents, through engagement of entire communities in events such as Hun Sen Krong’s extracurricular day. 

The Helmets for Families program works to increase helmet use and education amongst not only children, but also their parents, through engagement of entire communities in events such as Hun Sen Krong’s extracurricular day. From 2018-2019, Helmets for Families benefitted 943 students, 42 teachers, and 70 parents through helmet distributions, road safety education, and community engagement. As a result, helmet observations before and after program implementation showed an increase in student helmet use from 4% to 66% from 2018 to 2019.

See more photos from the event here. 

Dear Friends and Supporters,

As we move from spring into summer, the school year is drawing to a close - but our work continues. Throughout Cambodia, we are continuing to implement sustainable, effective initiatives to help work towards our goal of ensuring that every child has the right to travel safely on the roads. Read on for more information about our recent activities:

Helmets for Kids launches in Siem Reap, donates helmets to high-risk primary school

24-03-2019 - Siem Reap

Students participate in interactive road safety curriculum

We gave 96 helmets to high-risk students at Phum O Primary School in Siem Reap as part of our Helmets for Kids program. This event was co-sponsored by a new partner, The Dirty Cuts Siem Reap Motorcycle Club (DCSR), a local motorcycle club founded in 2013 and based in Siem Reap. Proceeds from the Siem Reap Bike Meet, which was sponsored by DCSR, were also donated to the Helmets for Kids program. Phum O Primary School was selected for the helmet donation due to its dangerous location along National Highway 6, where three students were involved in road crashes last year. The event was especially timely given the upcoming Khmer New Year, when road crashes often occur in higher numbers than usual. At the ceremony, students received educational training and participated educational games.

Please see more photos here

Please read the press release here

AIP Foundation organizes safe driving campaign ahead of Khmer New Year

12-04-2019 - Phnom Penh

A Phnom Penh police officer providing safe driving tips to a driver.

Together with 72 government officials, police officers, youth ambassadors for road safety, and public and private sector representatives, AIP Foundation organized a safe driving campaign prior to the Khmer New Year in Phnom Penh. The main message of this campaign was “Travel safely during Khmer New Year without over-speeding.” Participants distributed informational pamphlets with safety information and signs about the dangers of speeding to drivers and talked to them about risks and laws related to speeding.

Speeding is the leading cause of death on the roads in Cambodia. In 2017, the Cambodian National Road Safety Committee found that 11% of all road crashes in Cambodia happened during national holidays. Many Cambodians travel to their hometowns and the roads are more heavily occupied during this time.

Through this campaign, we reached 1,100 drivers on the roads and at bus stations. Additionally, Cellcard and Metfone, two national mobile phone companies in Cambodia, supported this campaign by sending the campaign message to 1,000,000 subscribers.

See more photos from the campaign here.

Cambodian university students in Phnom Penh discuss crash prevention during UN Global Road Safety Week

10-05-2019 - Phnom Penh

Students at Asia Euro University speaking up for road safety.

AIP Foundation facilitated road safety youth discussions with nearly 200 students at Build Bright University and Asia Euro University in Phnom Penh. University students had the opportunity to speak up and raise their concerns in accordance with this year’s UN Global Road Safety Week theme of leadership for road safety.

Students shared ideas with a group of guest speakers including Mr. Sen Cheatvisoth, Deputy Director of Road Safety Department of the Ministry of Public Work and Transportation; General Long Thou, Deputy Director of Traffic Police and Public Order Department of the General Commissariat of National Police; and Mr. Kim Pagna, AIP Foundation Cambodia Country Director.

During the discussion, students raised many concerns about the dangerous roads near their universities and shared many practical suggestions on how universities and students could make roads safer. A majority of students suggested creating speed limits of 30 Km/h around universities and schools zone. Asia Euro University is a partner university as part of our Safety Delivered program, supported by The UPS Foundation.

View photos from the discussion here.