Give a Vietnamese child a helmet; save a life

We’ve been busy this summer here at AIP Foundation, getting everything ready for the start of the new school year. In the next few months, public awareness campaigns will start up in three countries, and we’ll be running school-based programs in more schools than ever before. This summer, we’ve been focusing on researching the communities and issues we work with to make sure our programs are as effective as possible.

We also continue to grow so that we can more effectively implement programs in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and other countries. Just this summer, AIP Foundation added a national program manager for Vietnam, an executive manager to coordinate international efforts, and a program assistant to support our busy program staff.  

 Read on to find out what we’ve been up to, and what we’re planning for the months ahead.

Greig Craft Receives Prestigious Friendship Medal

One of our proudest moments this summer happened mid-July, when our President, Greig Craft, received the Vietnamese Friendship Medal, the highest honor given to foreigners in Vietnam. The Minister of Transport thanked Greig for his contributions to road traffic safety in Vietnam, saying, “Your innovations in the development and design of a tropical motorbike helmet have already saved many lives.” This was exciting for everyone at AIP Foundation, and we want to thank all of our sponsors, partners, and friends for helping us get as far as we have.

Pedestrian Research Report for Dong Nai Province and Driving Skills Focus Group

All of our projects are research-based, and this summer we completed two studies that will inform our programs. The first was a report on the traffic safety situation in Dong Nai province in Vietnam, specifically as it relates to pedestrians and children. The second was a series of focus groups on adults’ perceptions about driving skills and safety. This will be the basis for an upcoming campaign about adult drivers’ road behaviors. Although many of our programs focus on helmet use as a preventative measure, we recognize that 95% of crashes are due to human error, which we hope to address through driving skills education.

Thailand and Cambodia

AIP Foundation has offices in Thailand and Cambodia as well as Vietnam, and these offices have been very busy this summer!

Our Cambodian team ran a Stakeholder Consultative Meeting in Phnom Penh in collaboration with several government bodies to brainstorm strategies for a Passenger Helmet Campaign we’ll be running very soon.

On the program side, ANZ Royal Bank sponsored a Helmets for Kids (HFK) ceremony in Cambodia where they donated 453 helmets to children. Parents were especially enthusiastic about the murals painted on the school’s wall, reminding them to put helmets on their children’s heads.

In Thailand, Diversey Hygiene sponsored a Helmets for Kids event in Patumtanee, and 280 children received life-saving helmets and road safety education. The ceremony included a traditional Thai dance for children, teachers, parents, sponsors, and government members attending.

AIP Foundation was also present in Bangkok at the Time for Action Conference, where policies and implementation strategies aimed at preventing and mitigating road accidents were discussed and reviewed.

As our school-based programs ramp up, the public awareness campaigns are developed, and our international efforts expand, feel free to check out our website for updates. Your support and contributions continue to make all of these activities possible, so we'll continue to keep you updated through theseGlobal Giving reports. As someone committed to our cause, we encourage you to get in touch at any time if you have questions or ideas. We also hope that you'll keep telling your friends about the work we do and why it means something to you.