On 12 August 2014, Australian Ambassador Hugh Borrowman visited the Asia Injury Prevention (AIP) Foundation and the Protec Tropical Helmet Factory in Soc Son, Hanoi. “The Foundation has made great contributions to road traffic safety in Vietnam over the last 15 years, from their advocacy work, to educating children on traffic safety, to the development and production of the helmets themselves” said the Ambassador.

Owned by the AIP Foundation, the Protec Tropical Helmet Factory manufactures high-quality, affordable helmets with a light-weight design, appropriate for tropical climates. Currently, there are 150 employees working in the factory – one third of whom have a disability.

The Australian Government was a supporter of the Foundation’s National Helmet Wearing Campaign from 2007-2009, and has supported four Australian volunteers to work in the organisation. Australian volunteer, Ruth Pitt, is working with the Foundation.

Ruth shared: “Globally, road traffic injury is the leading cause of death for people aged 15-29, and the second leading cause of death for children aged 5-14. I was interested in working with the AIP Foundation because they address the issue of road safety, particularly helmet use, from different angles. Some organisations involved with public health issues just do public awareness campaigns, or school education programs, or advocacy, but the AIP Foundation does all of these things, as well as selling high-quality helmets at affordable prices and providing them for free to students in disadvantaged areas.”

“My assignment has been to help build on the organisation’s work in monitoring and evaluation. I’ve been helping the AIP Foundation to have strong systems for collecting, storing and analyzing data about their work, and to communicate those results”.

“The quality of AVID volunteers, their dynamism and professionalism, have been extraordinary” – said Greig Craft, President of the AIP Foundation. Ruth Pitt is one of 70 Australians currently volunteering in Vietnam under the Australian Government’s Australian Volunteers for International Development (AVID) program.

Source: Australia in Vietnam Facebook page