Students of Đăng Châu Primary School in Tuyên Quang City received quality helmets as part of AIP Foundation's programme. — Photo courtesy of AIP Foundation

TUYÊN QUANG — AIP Foundation in collaboration with the Traffic Safety Committee and Department of Education and Training of the northern province of Tuyên Quang on Friday hosted a launch ceremony as part of the Helmets for Kids Programme.

The province is home to a significant number of ethnic minorities, who face a range of challenges in accessing mainstream services and resources.

The Helmets for Kids programme aims to reduce brain injuries related to road crashes in school zones and the surrounding communities through increased quality helmet use among children.

This year 5,828 helmets were distributed in Thái Nguyên and Tuyên Quang provinces to students, teachers, and staff at eight schools. Teachers also received interactive training on road safety.

Furthermore, school projects will receive booklets on helmet safety.

The project launch ceremony at Đăng Châu Primary School promoted community awareness of the life-saving importance of increasing child helmet use. 

“Every child deserves equal access to the tools and resources in their community, especially education and knowledge. By focusing on equity and diversity, we’re working towards this vision together. The Helmets for Kids programme helps to raise the quality of life standard for communities, especially for kids in rural areas. Something as simple as wearing a helmet can be the difference in that child coming back home to their family happy and healthy after a school day,” said Matthias Skillecorn, managing director of Johnson & Johnson Việt Nam, which is also taking part in the project.

Following the introduction, the students participated in a helmet fitting and engaged in road safety activities and games. This brought about a unique opportunity for every child at the school to learn more about helmet safety though edutainment activities as well as marking a chance to spread the importance of helmet safety among the local government and members of the community.

Trịnh Thu Hà, deputy chief of the office of the NTSC, said, “It is of paramount importance that students wear quality helmets. This can mark the difference between ‘life-saving’ and ‘mortality risk’ when it comes to a crash. The students need to be trained on how to select and wear a standard helmet properly. This will ensure maximum protection for them when traveling by motorbike.”

From 2012 to 2020, the Johnson & Johnson funded Helmets for Kids programme has provided 68,420 helmets to 93 schools across eight Vietnamese provinces, in addition to providing tools and resources to ensure children in the community are commuting to school safely. — VNS