FedEx Express, the world’s largest express transportation company, and Safe Kids Thailand recently unveiled a ‘Photovoice’ exhibition in Bangkok to promote pedestrian safety from the point of view of Thai youngsters. More than 50 students participated in the event.
The students had previously undergone training as part of the FedEx/Safe Kids Walk This Way pedestrian safety program and were invited to take photos to illustrate the hazards they encounter every day as they walk to and from school. The resulting photos were presented by the students to teachers and other guests at the Photovoice event held at Wat Phraya Yang School.
In Thailand, traffic accidents are the second leading cause of child fatality, with an estimated 700 to 900 fatalities annually among youngsters under the age of fifteen. An additional 21,000 children suffer injuries annually as a result of traffic accidents, according to a study by the Child Safety Promotion & Injury Prevention Research Center (CSIP) during the period 1999-2007.
“The photographs really do give a voice to the youngsters, allowing them to highlight safe and unsafe pedestrian behavior and some of the dangers they face if they do not obey the ‘rules of the road’ ” said David Carden, managing director, FedEx Express Thailand and Indochina. “We are very committed to working with SafeKids in Thailand to promote safety, one of our company’s core values, and to ensure that these and other students have all the resources needed to make pedestrian safety a routine and fundamental part of their lives.”
“More than 90% of road traffic deaths occur in low and middle-income countries such as Thailand,” said Associate Professor Adisak Plitponkarnpim, director of CSIP at Safe Kids Thailand. “Reasons for road traffic deaths and injuries are known and can be prevented. They include, in particular, infrastructure that fails to protect pedestrians. By teaching pedestrian safety and changing the environment around schools, our Safe Kids Walk This Way program helps to protect our children, prevents injuries and saves lives.”
Earlier this year FedEx Thailand and Safe Kids Thailand provided a training workshop on pedestrian safety for nearly 100 teachers at selected schools. Traffic safety corners on school grounds, with working traffic lights, zebra crossings and traffic safety signs allow the students to practice their pedestrian safety skills in a real world setting and to bring the lessons outside of the classroom. As a part of the program, Safe Kids Thailand has also constructed or redesigned sidewalks surrounding the schools to provide a safer environment for students to walk in every day.
About Safe Kids Walk This Way
The Walk This Way program was created by Safe Kids Worldwide and FedEx in the United States in 1999. The program has worked with more than a million students and thousands of schools in Brazil, Canada, China, Korea, the Philippines and the United States. Walk This Way is a multifaceted program that includes education, safety task forces that make environmental improvements to areas where children walk, research and law enforcement, all working to promote child pedestrian safety.
FedEx, the exclusive corporate sponsor of the Safe Kids Walk This Way program, provides safety expertise and assists in the collection of research data to document the problems faced by child pedestrians. With FedEx financial assistance, Safe Kids Worldwide also helps fund pedestrian safety task forces in high-risk areas. FedEx volunteers conduct classroom education, escort children to and from school on International Walk to School Day and serve on school-based pedestrian safety committees. Every October, more than 1,000 FedEx volunteers in more than 150 cities around the world work with Safe Kids to keep children safe. For more information about Walk This Way, visit www.usa.safekids.org/wtw.
Safe Kids Worldwide
Safe Kids Worldwide is a global network of organizations whose mission is to prevent accidental childhood injury, a leading killer of children fourteen and under. More than 450 coalitions in nineteen countries bring together health and safety experts, educators, corporations, foundations, governments and volunteers to educate and protect families. The organization is dedicated to the prevention of unintentional injuries such as road traffic injuries, falls, burns, drowning and poisoning. The Safe Kids, Walk This Way program has been adapted to match the specific conditions of Thailand and to ensure the greatest effectiveness of the project.
About FedEx Corp.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With annual revenues of $38 billion, the company offers integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world's most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 290,000 team members to remain "absolutely and positively" focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. For more information, visit news.fedex.com.
About FedEx Express
FedEx Express is the world's largest express transportation company, providing fast and reliable delivery to every U.S. address and to more than 220 countries and territories. FedEx Express uses a global air-and-ground network to speed delivery of time-sensitive shipments, by a definite time and date with a money-back guarantee[1].
NOTE TO EDITORS: FedEx Express press releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://news.fedex.com.
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