FedEx, Safe Kids Promote Pedestrian Road Safety in Olongapo

Schoolchildren from the Olongapo City Elementary School (OSEC) had an extra learning session Wednesday during the pedestrian road safety workshop sponsored by FedEx Express and the Safe Kids Philippines (SKP) in observance of the annual National Safe Kids Week.

Organized as part of the FedEx/Safe Kids Walk This Way program, the activities focused on teaching schoolchildren about road safety and smart pedestrian behavior to keep them safe as they walk to and from school.

As schools open this month, over 22 million children are expected to be walking to and from school each day.  “Did you know that each year, more than 8,500 children in the Philippines suffer injuries or even lose their lives because of accidents on the road?” Maribeth EspinosaFedEx Former APAC Hub Operations Managing Director said.

She added that, as individuals or members of the private and public sector, hold a critical role in ensuring that children, our country’s future, get to their destination safely.

The highlight of the activities was the establishment of one-week Walk This Way Road Safety Parks at Rizal Triangle in Olongapo City.

The road safety parks showcased a miniature road circuit simulating actual road conditions with traffic signs, pedestrian lanes and a sidewalk. Through games, simulation exercises and interactive exhibits facilitated by FedEx and SKP volunteers, the parks also provide an opportunity for children to apply the lessons they learned from the Walk This Way program and reinforce road safety knowledge which will help protect them from preventable accidents and injuries on the road.

Rhicke Jennings, FedEx Managing Director for Australasia, Indonesia and the Philippines said, “In the same way that we value safety in our operations, FedEx is committed to creating safer, more walkable pedestrian environments for the Philippines community. Through the National Safe Kids Week activities, and our year-round road safety advocacy work with SKP, we hope to use our road safety expertise and volunteer efforts to teach safe behavior to motorists and child pedestrians in the Philippines.”

SKP President Dr. Rafael Consunji said, “With the majority of the country’s accidental injuries happening on the road, it is important to give children access to education and engagement programs to learn about road safety and how to keep safe on the road. We are glad that FedEx is supporting this worthwhile cause at this year’s National Safe Kids Week and throughout the year through the Walk This Way program.”

Hundreds of schoolchildren, FedEx and SKP volunteers, teachers, and representatives from the public sector are expected to participate in the activities which will also be held in Manila and in Cebu.

Now in its 6^th year, the NSKW was created under presidential Proclamation No. 1307 in support of efforts under Safe Kids/FedEx Express Walk This Way child pedestrian safety program. The Philippines Department of Education is encouraging all public and private schools nationwide to observe this week by creating, or participating in extracurricular safety-related activities.

Since its launch in 2005, the FedEx/Safe Kids Walk This Way program has reached more than 600,000 children from 89 schools in the Philippines through classroom teaching sessions and events promoting road safety for children. The program is currently being implemented in five key cities in the Philippines – Pasay, Parañaque, Olongapo, Cebu, and Quezon City. In 2009, FedEx Philippines and SKP received the “Outstanding International Walk This Way Partnership” award from Safe Kids Worldwide for exemplary efforts in promoting pedestrian safety in the country.