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Global Newsletter July 2020 |
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Dear Friends and Supporters, 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. We have 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. We also partnered with Solidarity Center and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit to promote World Health Organization approved methods to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in Cambodian garment factories. We implemented the first of a series of leadership workshops for 80 trade union representatives to promote more equitable factory working conditions, including safer commutes for employees as part of the Commuting Safety for Cambodian Workers program. In Vietnam, teachers from Thai Nguyen and Yen Bai provinces were invited to participate in a training session, where they learned about updated laws and regulations on helmet use, the difference between high quality and substandard helmets, and their role as educators and facilitators in promoting helmet use. Under the MobileKids Vietnam program, we brought helmet safety and road crash prevention education to nearly 1,850 children. Pedestrians are often exposed to the dangers and risks of the roads in China, but seldom do they have the opportunity to access education on the safe behaviors that could very well save their own life and the lives of those around them. By partnering with local government and authorities through our Walk Wise program, we focused on increasing awareness and knowledge on road safety in several rural communities in Nanba district over the course of four days. We are continuously reminded that none of what we do for our beneficiaries would exist without the steadfast commitment and dedication of our road safety advocates at the ground level up to the governmental and international level. With the ongoing pandemic, the safety of the communities we serve and their well-being remain at the forefront of our minds as we continue to build a world with safe roads. For more information on our activities, achievements, and related road injury intervention news, please read on. Kind regards, Mirjam Sidik
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Table of Contents |
Vietnam |
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Cambodia |
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China |
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Employment Opportunities
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Vietnam |
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MobileKids Vietnam teaches life-saving skills with the
Safety with Moki Tour
Supported by Mercedes Benz Vietnam, AIP Foundation implemented Phase II of the MobileKids Vietnam program and Safety with Moki Tour, which brought helmet safety and road crash prevention education to nearly 1,850 children from Chi Lang and Hoang Van Thu Primary school in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City. The event took place at Chi Lang Primary School, with representatives from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, Traffic Safety Committee, Go Vap Bureau of Education and Training, and Mercedes-Benz Vietnam, in attendance. Utilizing adapted training materials that were developed with educational experts during Phase I of the program, Phase II of the MobileKids Vietnam and Safety with Moki program gave students the opportunity to participate in training workshops. The training workshop included learning about safe behaviors when inside cars, such as how to get out of a locked car, fastening seat-belts correctly, using child restraints, refraining from ever leaning out of an open car window, and always watching carefully whenever opening a car door, in addition to helmet safety education. 41 class-based trainings were implemented for 1,850 students from July 6-10 at the two project schools. Mr. Brad Kelly, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Vietnam, expressed his enthusiasm and joy in playing games with the kids, and shared that this is a brilliant way to teach road safety to children. He stated, “Safety is part of our brand’s DNA and we want to deliver safety awareness to the next generation. Following the success of last year’s MobileKids, which generated a very positive result with general road safety knowledge increasing by 20%, we are pleased to deliver 41 trainings this year to students in a lively, interactive manner that will directly benefit their safety.” Read more about the event in the Press Release here. To view photos from the event, click here. |
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Wrapping up
Helmets for Kids and preparing teachers for their contribution as road safety educators
Helmets for Kids, AIP Foundation’s program supported by Johnson & Johnson, promotes child helmet use and delivers student road safety education. Two three-part events were held, which comprised of a review workshop, orientation session, and teacher training in Thai Nguyen and Yen Bai provinces, Vietnam, to discuss program highlights and achievements across 17 target schools . Over the 2019-2020 school year, Helmets for Kids donated a total of 4,303 helmets throughout Thai Nguyen and Yen Bai. Helmets were distributed to eight schools in Thai Nguyen where the province saw an increase in helmet wearing rate from 53% before intervention to 94% after intervention. After conducting surveys and observations, AIP Foundation recorded the average helmet wearing rate in Yen Bai was only at 27%. Immediately following intervention across nine schools, the helmet wearing rate increased to 95%, which demonstrates the urgency for children to have access to high-quality standard helmets. Stakeholder engagement is a key element of the Helmets for Kids program and critical to ensuring the success and sustainability of AIP Foundation’s helmet safety interventions. Teachers from the schools participated in a training session, where they learned about updated laws and regulations on helmet use, the difference between high quality and substandard helmets, and their role as educators and facilitators in promoting helmet use and safe road behavior. Ms. Oanh, Vice-principal of Kim Dong Primary school shared, “I myself was once injured in a traffic accident, so I deeply understand the importance of wearing a quality helmet correctly. Before the project, we, teachers in Kim Dong Primary school, all knew that, but we did not know how to convey the message to our students efficiently. Now all students in my school master the principles and practices of helmet wearing whenever they get on motorbikes, electrical bikes, and even bicycles.” In preparation for the following school year, the program will donate several thousands of helmets to schools in both provinces, in addition to Tuyen Quang province, all of which are located near national or provincial roads with frequent traffic and risky road conditions. To view photos of the workshop, please click here. |
Cambodia |
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Mitigating the risk of COVID-19 in Cambodia’s most important industry with health and safety campaign targeting factory workers
As part of the global fight against COVID-19, AIP Foundation partnered with Solidarity Center and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) to produce nearly 500 posters and 1,500 banners that promoted World Health Organization approved methods to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in Cambodian garment factories. These were placed within 200 factories and on collective transport vehicles, which provide the mode of daily transport for many workers. Building on AIP Foundation’s existing relationships with factories involved with the CSCW program, the COVID-19 health and safety campaign aligns the efforts of reducing potential transmission of disease and improving factory hygiene practices with overall greater factory workers’ safety and wellbeing. According to Amcham Cambodia, Cambodia’s garment and footwear sector has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, with an 80 percent drop of exports in the first quarter of 2020, and predicted to plummet a further 50 – 60 percent in the second quarter. The beleaguered industry has stopped production in 256 factories, affecting more than 130,000 workers and their families. The economic repercussions of COVID-19 on Cambodia’s biggest industry will be felt for years to come, but with appropriate hygiene practices applied in the remaining factories, preventative measures, and awareness-raising generated through a health and safety campaign, the footwear and garment sector can still provide safe employment for Cambodian workers. |
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Battambang Province’s three-day educational community outreach initiative targets local residents
With traffic quickly picking up in the summer months, AIP Foundation collaborated with local school management of the Battambang community through Helmets for Families, a program supported by Manulife Cambodia that promotes safe road practices, like the importance of helmet use. School administrators from Onlong Vil Primary School, one of the program’s target schools in Battambang province, and members of AIP Foundation distributed nearly 2,000 educational pamphlets and posters in areas where residents often congregate. The three-day outreach initiative reached hundreds of community members to remind them of how preventative measures can have lasting, positive impacts on all road users. To view photos from the event, click here. |
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Leadership workshop targets trade unions to advocate for factory workers’ safety
The USAID Labor Rights in Cambodia (LRIC) project, implemented by Solidarity Center, is supporting a series of leadership workshops for 80 trade union representatives to promote more equitable factory working conditions, including safer commutes for employees. Solidarity Center’s partner, the AIP Foundation, conducted the first workshop this month, articulating a vision of safety policies to protect factory workers on the roads as part of the Commuting Safety for Cambodian Workers program. This includes driver training, access to life-saving helmets for workers who commute via motorcycle, free motorcycle safety trainings for all workers, a transition from trucks to passenger vehicles, and the adoption of road safety policies implemented factory-wide. The workshop generated discussions among union leaders, who planned actions to support these outcomes. “Addressing the rights and safety of workers is not a one-solution approach. It relies on the commitment and collaboration of safety leaders, industry stakeholders, and trade unions and partners, as well as tangible changes, like the provision of safe transport, high-quality helmets, and educational workshops that can improve the lives of workers,” said William Conklin, Solidarity Center Cambodia Country Director. Read more about the event in the Press Release here. For photos of the leadership workshop, please click here. |
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Cambodian University students hit the streets to raise awareness on road safety and COVID-19 prevention
While neighboring countries are experiencing a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic or in the depths of combatting the pandemic, Cambodia returns to some sense of normalcy with roads quickly being reoccupied. Yet as road use increases so too are the risks of road injuries and community transmission of COVID-19. In an effort to combat the virus while advocating for better safety measures on roads, students from Prek Leap National College of Agriculture set forth a two-day awareness campaign aimed at providing tips on road safety and preventing of COVID-19 transmission to students and other road users in and around the university. As part of the Safety Delivered program, on July 23 and 30, 2020, Youth Ambassadors for Road Safety (YARS) from the University started at ground zero by handing out over 186 pamphlets, informational stickers, helmets, and other goods to educate their peers on road crash prevention. Safety Delivered, supported by The UPS Foundation, is a program implemented by AIP Foundation to increase awareness and education through university-based campaigns, public awareness campaigns, helmet distributions, and education in an effort to reduce road fatalities and injuries among vulnerable road users, many of which are young students. To view photos of the two-day event, please click here. |
China |
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Placing road safety into the hands of the community
In rural parts of China, like Nanba Town in Sichuan, China, pedestrians are often exposed to the dangers and risks of the roads, but seldom do they have the opportunity to access education on the safe road behaviors that could very well save their own life and the lives of those around them. Over the course of four days, community members from Shangxia, Wubao, Chahe, and Nanba were invited to participate in an interactive and hands-on event through the Walk Wise program, supported by Chevron. The event, hosted by AIP Foundation in collaboration with local police in the community, focused on increasing awareness and knowledge on road safety. The police facilitated education lessons with 500 participants in attendance. Participants, which included parents, grandparents, and young children, were invited to join in the interactive event by partaking in several games that focus on differentiating between safe and unsafe road safety behavior. Young children were invited to draw road safety images alongside their parents or grandparents, which attendees found to be very impactful to the community. "In a rural area like this, most of us don't have a chance to be educated on road safety practices. I hope we have more activities like this in the future, " said one participant. The Walk Wise program aims to improve the safety of road users through community education, school-based education, road treatments, and capacity-building measures, and has been implemented in Nanba Town since 2017. For photos of the four-day community education event, please click here. |
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