Dear friends and supporters, As our project cycle winds down, and the school vacations commence, our teams across the world spend the summer months mapping out the next steps in each of our initiatives. This month we're reporting to you the latest results of our work:
With baseline assessments at new schools in Kai County, China and across three Tanzanian cities, we're also identifying needs as we expand our work in these two countries. Read on to find out more. Kind regards, Mirjam Sidik
1. Global
2. Vietnam
3. Cambodia
4. Thailand
5. China6. Uganda
7. Tanzania
News UpdateA map of the countries with the most dangerous roads – So who has the world's most dangerous roads? It turns out, based on a comprehensive World Health Organization report that measures road safety by the number of motor vehicle-related deaths per 100,000 people, the answer is the Dominican Republic.
Momentum: Safe Kids' Global Network comes together in Washington, D.C. 19-22 June – Washington, D.C., United States
AIP Foundation sent two representatives, International Development Director Lotte Brondum and Project Manager Bui Diem Hong, to the Safe Kids Worldwide 2013 Childhood Injury Prevention Conference in Washington, D.C from June 19-22. Ms. Bui presented the Safe Kids Walk this Way pedestrian safety program, which she coordinates in several provinces throughout Vietnam. The conference celebrated 2013 as Safe Kids' 25th year.
News UpdateLocals indifferent to subsidized helmets – Despite a subsidy ranging between VND30,000 and VND165,000 per helmet, local people are still indifferent to the program as they say the helmets are more expensive than products sold at shops.
175,024 Vietnamese parents pledge to put helmets on their children January to June –Vietnam
Between January and June 2013, more than 175,000 Vietnamese parents pledged to insist their children wear helmets. Parents signed a commitment to put helmets on their children using Facebook, the campaign website, and direct flyer distribution at information sessions. Make a Pledge supports the three-year "Children also need a helmet" campaign to increase motorcycle helmet wearing among Vietnamese children. Last month's evaluation results showed that, since baseline research was conducted in September 2012, child helmet use has risen from 17 to 47 percent across three target cities and, particularly impressive, from 9 to 53 percent in Hanoi. A fun, effective approach to educating students about road safety June – District 9, Ho Chi Minh City
Last month, Zooming in on Road Safety's family festival combined competition and creativity to improve the road safety knowledge of 1,500 secondary students, their teachers, and parents, from District 9, Ho Chi Minh City through interactive games. A post-evaluation of AIP Foundation's Zooming in on Road Safety program, taking place for the first time this year with the support of Intel Products Vietnam, has now revealed that students remembered the majority of the road safety messages featured in the festival, particularly "wear a helmet on bicycles and motorcycles" (56%), "obey traffic safety law" (46%), and "say no to drinking on the road" (39%). In addition, 86 percent of students reported enjoying learning about road safety through the games. Ho Chi Minh City students raise funds for Helmets for Kids June –Ho Chi Minh City Students at the ACG International School in Ho Chi Minh City raised funds for the Helmets for Kids program for the second year. Through a variety of fundraisers at the school, including a bake sale, school fair, and "crazy hair day," students raised 13,150,000 VND (equivalent to US$625). These funds will ensure that 42 primary school students will receive helmets that will keep them safe when traveling on Vietnam's roads.
News UpdateRoad safety groups call for more effective laws – Road safety advocates concerned by the rising death toll from traffic accidents have called on the government to take immediate action to reverse the trend by pushing through legislation that would help improve road safety.
Primary students bring attention to road safety on International Children's Day 27 May to 6 June – Kampong Speu and Kandal Provinces
School children and traffic police in Kampong Speu and Kandal provinces celebrated International Children's Day, June 1, with interactive road safety activities, in support of AIP Foundation's Helmets for Kids program, sponsored by The UPS Foundation. International Children's Day celebrates children and their role in society but also highlights their vulnerability, which is why on this occasion Helmets for Kids has equipped children at Hun Sun Prek Russey, Vorsar, and Kor Ki primary schools with life-saving road safety knowledge and skills. Between May 27 and June 6, traffic police led road safety lessons for the students, who practiced what they learned through interactive games, including a painting contest, a bicycle race, and a quiz of road safety questions. The UPS Foundation donated nearly 3,000 motorcycle helmets to students and teachers at the three schools in January and plans to donate more than 8,000 helmets total to children in Cambodia by 2015. The initial results of the donations surpassed expectations with average helmet use rates across the schools, originally near zero, increasing to 88 percent. AIP Foundation organized additional road safety activities at these schools on June 24, 27, and 28. Check out the photos! Public discussions on helmets for motorcycle passengers, including children, expand to two more schools 5-6 June –Phnom Penh
On June 5 and 6, 650 students from Cambodian Mekong University and Westline private schools participated in public discussions to raise awareness about the life-saving importance of helmets for motorcycle passengers, especially children and young adults. The students had the opportunity to raise their concerns about the safety of Cambodia's roads to the panel speakers, made up of high-level government officials, Major General Kim Yideth, Deputy of Central Department Public Order, Ministry of Interior and Chhorn Vorn Deputy Secretary General of the National Road Safety Committee. AIP Foundation also informed students about a small grant scheme, offered from May to December 2013, to fund road safety awareness activities at their universities. Check out the photos! Maybank donates 100 helmets to children at the People Improvement Organization 15 June – Phnom Penh
The People Improvement Organization (PIO) hosted a kick-off ceremony on June 15 to launch AIP Foundation's Helmets for Kids initiative, sponsored by The Maybank Cambodia Plc. and with the support of the Cambodia Biker's Club. In Steung Mean Chey Commune, Mean Chey District, PIO is located in close proximity to high-risk roads, yet student helmet wearing rates are low. 100 students and teachers at PIO received helmets during the handover ceremony to provide protection from head injury in the case of a motorcycle or bicycle crash. Maybank volunteers led the students in various activities relating to road safety, including bicycle-riding and street-crossing practice, as well as quiz session on safe traffic behavior. Check out the photos! Road safety advocates make their case for policy priorities and actions 21 June – Phnom Penh
The Coalition for Road Safety and Handicap International, funded by the Global Road Safety Partnership, together with AIP Foundation called on the Royal Government of Cambodia to take immediate action to reverse rising toll of road traffic crashes. More than 100 stakeholders from the private sector, civil society, and international community have endorsed a joint statement imploring the government to pass comprehensive helmet legislation. This joint statement also calls on the media to promote safe road behavior and promote helmet use through all mediums and the private sector to develop internal policies to encourage their staff to respect traffic laws. Over 4000 Cambodian citizens have shown their support for the draft traffic law that mandates motorcycle passengers including children to wear helmets through online and traditional petitions. Additional evidence-based recommendations support the target set by the government to reduce road fatalities by 50 percent by 2020. The recommendations outline firm actions towards the government's ultimate vision of zero road traffic fatalities and span all aspects of road safety: empowering smarter road users through education; improving the enforcement of, and therefore the compliance with, traffic regulations; building safer roads; and establishing quicker post-crash response. Read the press release and check out the photos! Parents at Vorsar Primary School learn the value of a helmet 27 June – Phnom Penh
Helmet wearing rates at Vorsar Primary School in Kampong Speu Province have risen rapidly from zero to over 90 percent since The UPS Foundation donated helmets to more than 600 students in January 2013. To maintain the increase, AIP Foundation has followed-up with the school to engage parents in road safety activities. On June 27, more than 30 parents joined a workshop focused on the benefits of correct helmet use and on parents' roles to ensure that their children wear helmets every day. The parents pledged to put helmets on their children when they ride as passengers on motorcycles.
News UpdateEU: Protect tourists in Phuket – Tuk-tuk and taxi drivers in Phuket are being urged to put an end to intimidatory and violent behavior related to price-fixing by introducing a transparent system of set fares on the island, available to foreign tourists and residents alike.
Preschool children in Bangkok's Bung Rama 9 community practice their road safety knowledge 4-5 June – Bangkok
Students at two pre-school child development centers in Bangkok's Rama IX Aeration Pond Community, or Bung Rama 9, practiced safe road behavior during extracurricular activities with AIP Foundation on June 4 and 5. This event supports the Helmets for Kids initiative at Rama 9 Child Development Center Pattana and Bung Rama 9 Child Development Center Bor 3, funded by the Rotary Club of Bangkok South. Nearly 120 students from the two schools studied road safety and correct helmet wearing techniques. AIP Foundation also taught the students about safe walking behavior, in support of the United Nations' focus on pedestrians in 2013. After some fun activities with games and questions, students shared what they learned about how to be safe road users. Check out the photos! Bangladeshi government sends delegation to Thailand for a road safety study tour 9-14 June – Bangkok
AIP Foundation was honored to welcome a delegation of eleven government officials from the People's Republic of Bangladesh from June 9 to 14 for a study tour on traffic safety in Thailand. The four-day program made up a crucial part of the Road Safety Improvement Program funded by the Asia Development Bank and managed by Consia Consultants. AIP Foundation arranged for the delegation to visit the Departments of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, of Highway, and of Land Transport, as well as the Trauma Care Center, various road safety black spots, and a road construction site, among others. Check out the photos!
Evaluating the pilot phase of Walk Wise Late May – Kai County
Through the pilot year evaluation of Walk Wise, Chevron's pedestrian safety education program in Kai County, China, relevant stakeholders, including school officials, teachers, parents, and students, provided valuable, constructive feedback and suggestions to improve the impact of Walk Wise. Research methods included questionnaires, focus group discussions, observations, and principal interviews. Results are expected by August 2013. In its second year, AIP Foundation plans to expand Walk Wise to new schools in the region. Accordingly, baseline surveys were conducted at the No. 1 Primary School of Hanfeng, Fengle Primary School, and Wenpu Primary School of Kai County. Principals and school officials coordinated closely with AIP Foundation to facilitate the survey.
News UpdatePolice train in new traffic regulations – Traffic police officers and inspectors of motor vehicles are undergoing training and induction in the newly enacted traffic and road safety regulations and improved service delivery.
Ubulamu Bugaga or 'Life is your wealth,' campaign billboards June – Kampala
As part of the multi-faceted Ubulamu Bugaga ("Life is your wealth") campaign, new billboards were installed at boda boda (motorcycle taxi) stations throughout Kampala. Ubulamu Bugaga aims to increase helmet wearing rates and road safety knowledge among boda boda operators through workshops, radio advertisements, and public signage. Cost and comfort were reported as the main barriers to helmet use among boda boda drivers in the baseline survey. To address the concerns of expense, the billboards feature the image of a man with half of his face helmeted and protected, and the other half unhelmeted, bruised, bandaged, and bloodied, reminding boda bodas of the physical price of riding without a helmet. In addition to the billboards, two radio ads, running over twelve weeks, address the comfort barrier and cast helmet wearing as a familial responsibility. Check out the photos!
Observations in Tanzanian cities find drivers and men to be three times more likely to wear helmets than passengers and women Tanga, Morogoro, and Dar es Salaam
In order to better understand their target audience, the Helmet Vaccine Initiative - Tanzania (HVI-T) led efforts to collect data on current helmet-wearing behaviors in three cities. While the overall helmet wearing rate observed among 32,150 motorcycle drivers and passengers in Tanga, Morogoro, and Dar es Salaam was 53 percent, further breakdown of the data revealed some key patterns: drivers were much more likely than passengers to wear helmets (77 versus 21 percent, respectively), and males were three times more likely than females to wear a helmet (60 versus 20 percent, respectively). Tanzania Prisons Services will use this data to guide their efforts to identify appropriate helmet designs and to construct a local helmet assembly plant. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
| Share this |     |
