SONGKHLA, Thailand–November 25, 2020

Songkhla province in the south of Thailand boasts stunning beaches and beautiful waterfalls, but the children of this area face an all too common risk – a dangerous commute to and from school. AIP Foundation is working closely with local government officials to deliver an educational approach to road safety interventions and keep children safe.

The Street Wise program, supported by Chevron since 2014, incorporates road safety education, provision of safety equipment such as helmets and reflective safety vests, extracurricular activities, parental and community activities, and stakeholder engagement into a targeted approach to improving pedestrian and helmet skills of road users. The helmet-wearing rate in this area has increased from just 3% in 2014 to 55% today.

Mr. Rattha Nedsawang, Singhanakorn Senior Deputy District Chief shared, “This is a good project for our province. It is helpful for our community to be more and more aware of road safety. Moving forward, I would like to see provincial-level organizations and the community increase our collaboration.”

Importantly, the program takes a sustainable approach to embed the knowledge and philosophy of road safety by training teacher Master Trainers who are able to continue delivering the program. Mrs. Antika Inkaew, a Master teacher of the Street Wise program, shared, “Our school has integrated the main messages and content of the Street Wise program as road safety policy in the Student Council. So, even when the project has finished in our area, children will still continue to benefit and we will still do this campaign.”

To ensure that the program remains relevant to our local communities and to incorporate any feedback they might have, at the end of November we held a Stakeholders Meeting with 40 representatives from a number of government agencies, schools and Chevron partners. Key successes were shared, including that there have been no road crashes during school commute times involving any students at any of the project schools. The meeting also offered the opportunity to plan for upcoming events over the next year so that children continue to access their education safely.

To view photos from the event, please click here.