Y - Issue 162 - March 22, 2011 - Y-oman.com

Driving Forward
RoaD SaFety
Words Karima Farid | Photography Jerzy Wierzbicki
We first met Amal Al Zadjali in October 2009 at a local
exhibition, where she thoroughly impressed us with a
campaign that she initiated. We then featured her in
Issue 93 of Y. When I first met Amal I saw determination,
willingness and a passion for saving children’s lives, and
raising awareness about road safety to both parents and
children (but leaning on speaking to children more). Today,
nearly two years later, she still has that flame ablaze. Back
in October 2009 she said to me, “Kids listen and are easier
to speak to than parents. Some parents react as if we are
trying to intrude into their lives. It is just different with
kids, they try to understand us.”
After hard work, and undying enthusiasm, Amal managed
to reach one of her goals, which was to provide a car seat
for infants born in Oman. Just last month, at the First
Regional Road Safety Youth Assembly held in Oman, she
announced that this project is finally underway. This threeday
assembly was a good opportunity for 36 young people
from 24 countries to gather together and talk about road
safety issues in their regions.
We asked Amal to update us on what she has been up to
for the past two years, and what she has planned for the
near future:
Remind us, what is the Awladna Campaign
The Awladna Campaign (Our Children Campaign) is
a private social campaign established by a group of
volunteers to spread awareness of traffic dangers to
children. The campaign has many objectives, which include:
• Reducing the risk of children on the road.
• Educating school bus drivers on the importance of
keeping children safe on the roads and follow all traffic
rules.
• Educate parents on the importance of safety rules and
(putting in place) safeguards to limit accidents.
• Provide assistance to children who have been the victim
of accidents.
How was your journey for the past two years And did the
roads in Oman get safer or worse
It was an amazing journey for me, I met a lot of interesting
people around the world and learned a lot of interesting
stuff and projects from professionals in road safety, who
inspired me to reach to what we achieved today. It is
difficult to decide if the roads in Oman have gotten safer or
not, but you can notice that awareness about road safety is
growing in Oman in a good way, especially after His Majesty
Sultan Qaboos bin Said’s speech about road safety.
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