Volunteers are making roads safer for schoolchildren in Kyrgyzstan
In 2019, UNICEF, through its volunteer programme, launched the "Safe Crossing" Campaign together with the National Patrol Police of the Ministry of Interior Affairs
During a winter morning in Novopavlovka village, around 40 minutes away from Bishkek, the Capital of Kyrgyzstan, two 10-year-old twin brothers were on their way to school. While crossing the road near the school through a pedestrian crossing, a car accidentally hit them. One of the brothers died from the injuries. This tragedy occurred in January 2019, shocking Kyrgyzstan and reminding us of the importance of safe crossing, especially for children.
During the first six months of 2019, 710 accidents involving children were recorded, with 36 children killed and 828 injured. Despite the efforts of the authorities to reduce the accident rate on the roads, official statistics show that the number of casualties is growing. Accidents involving children in the first half of 2019 increased by 30.5 per cent compared to the same period of the last year.
The Volunteer Zhamila Abdakaimova and her team were on duty at dangerous intersections near Bishkek schools for a month.
"Violations were both from pedestrians and drivers," said Zhamila. "Pedestrians violated the rules, little schoolchildren ran out onto the road, and drivers also stopped cars in forbidden places, creating an obstacle for pedestrians."
Volunteers handed out reflective bracelets to schoolchildren to help them be more visible for drivers. The "Safe Crossing Campaign" implemented by the UNICEF volunteers was covered not only in the social media but also in the leading mass media of Kyrgyzstan. Volunteers became guests of the main public TV channel, being broadcasted at prime time on the importance of safe behavior while crossing the road.
"Our children often get into traffic accidents both as passengers and as pedestrians," said Tilek Otorov, PR for the National Patrol Police. "Therefore, together with UNICEF volunteers, we conducted an information campaign about road safety and rules for crossing roads."
"Our children often get into traffic accidents both as passengers and as pedestrians," said Tilek Otorov, PR for the National Patrol Police. "Therefore, together with UNICEF volunteers, we conducted an information campaign about road safety and rules for crossing roads."
At the start of the school year, in September 2019, UNICEF, through its volunteer programme, launched the "Safe Crossing" Campaign together with the National Patrol Police of the Ministry of Interior Affairs. Every morning for a month, 140 volunteers went to areas surrounding schools all over the country to help schoolchildren cross the road safely and remind drivers of the rules and norms driving near schools.
Volunteers raised awareness among schoolchildren and their parents about safety on the road and the importance of wearing reflective elements on clothing. Children were explained how to cross the road correctly: they should be focused and paying attention to the environment, removing their headphones and not being distracted by their phone or other objects.
For one month, UNICEF volunteers made crossroads safer in the 63 schools areas in the whole of Kyrgyzstan. In total, volunteers trained 21,000 children on how to cross the road safely and passed on knowledge and information as well to 6,000 adults, mostly parents and caregivers.
UNICEF continues to work in Kyrgyzstan to ensure children can make use of the streets and cross roads safely, and for this purpose, programme initiatives on road safety are expected to start in 2020 in partnership with UNDP, WHO and EBRD.
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