HO CHI MINH City, Vietnam - April 16, 2019

Helmets for Families, supported by Abbott, introduced its sixth year of programming with a launch event held at Lam Van Ben Primary School in Nha Be District, where 1,292 students and teachers received free helmets. AIP Foundation hosted the event in coordination with the Ho Chi Minh City Traffic Safety Committee and Department of Education and Training.

This year’s Helmets for Families program will continue collaborating with doctors and medical professionals, using their experiences working with road crash victims to educate teachers, parents, and students about the very real dangers of not wearing a helmet. “Teachers and parents play an important role to promote and sustain safe road behavior for students,” said Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Tuong, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Traffic Safety Committee. “Without their cooperation and enthusiasm it would be difficult to re-enforce safe helmet use. Educational activities directly influence the awareness and behavior of students, parents and community members to wear quality helmets properly.”

Last month, teachers and parents visited doctors and patients at Cho Ray National Hospital to learn from their experiences with road-related tragedies. Afterwards, this information was incorporated into teacher trainings at program schools. Helmets for Families provides communication materials to road crash injury patients and their families at national and local hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City.