The Canada based life insurance company, Manulife (Cambodia) PLC launched “Helmets for Families” in collaboration with AIP Foundation on March 23. Approximately 600 people including government officers, NGOs, private sector partners, students, teachers, and parents attended the kick-off ceremony at Sampov Meas Primary school to increase the awareness of road safety in Cambodia.

Sampov Meas Primary School is located in a high-density traffic area along a main road in Phnom Penh. 80 percent of its students commute by motorcycle or bicycle, but very few wear helmets. Helmets for Families is providing 424 helmets to 304 students, 20 teachers, and 100 mothers, as well as training sessions for teachers and parents to reinforce their understanding of helmet use and encourage them to put helmets on children.

Through their commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility, Manulife Cambodia and its employees have supported the program by donating helmets, painting road safety murals at the school, teaching students the correct way for wearing their helmets, and assisting with the road safety training workshops for mothers and students, conducted by AIP Foundation.

“1,894 lives were lost and 4,388 people suffered severe injuries on Cambodia’s roads in 2012,” said His Excellency Khuong Sreng, Deputy Governor of Phnom Penh. “We must insist that everyone, especially children, wear helmets. Doing so has proven to reduce the risk of death by 42 percent and serious injury by 69 percent in the event of a crash.”

Read the press release and check out the photos!