BATTAMBANG Province, Cambodia - December 12, 2019

The Helmets for Families program, organized by AIP Foundation with the support of Manulife Cambodia, held a symbolic helmet handover ceremony at Onlong Vil Primary School in Onlong Vil Commune, Sangke District, Battambang Province, in which 1,238 helmets were donated to students, teachers, and parents. The event was attended by provincial and national government representatives, including officers of Battambang Province, well as road safety stakeholders and representatives from Manulife Cambodia and AIP Foundation.

Despite the introduction of the universal helmet law in Cambodia in 2015, approximately 80-95% of students commute by motorcycle or bicycle at Onlong Vil Primary School, yet less than 5% of students wear helmets. At least 80% of students at Onlong Vil are from low-income local families, making it difficult for parents to afford a helmet for their children.

The event concluded with stakeholders and representatives symbolically placing the donated helmets on students and teachers of Onlong Vil Primary School, representing the new partnership.

The Helmets for Families program, which has operated in Cambodia since 2012, aims to provide parents with quality helmets, as well promote helmet use through engaging parents as role models, providing training opportunities, and targeting mothers—as well as their children—to be educated on safe road behaviors.