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

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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. 22
How can the public help you We will soon have a special account for the car seat project, so if any person wishes to donate a car seat, they can pay 17 rials for a car seat, so we can then buy a car seat on behalf of the individual and give it to a newborn baby. The only way this will happen is for everyone who is capable of contributing to participate and spread the message to others. This is a very important subject, and the only way we can manage to succeed in anything is to unite. How can the media help you I wish that the media talked regularly about road safety matters, just as how Y has been doing, as this matter can never get old or boring – each article can save a life. Also, as reporters, they can talk to families that had bad experiences from car accidents, to share their story with others. That can also save someone’s life – you never know. What message would you like to share with us Every child is important, and because we the adults are capable of understanding and thinking on behalf of really young children, we should be the ones who seat them properly, not carry them on our laps up front, and wear our seatbelts all the time, to show them and educate them from an early age. How do you manage your time I do my best to manage my time between my office work and my charity work and this all comes around my major consideration, which is my family. I always ensure that I spend time with my boys and do more activities with them during weekend. In the evenings, I get more space to work on the Awladna Campaign – which will always be ongoing. Tell us about your 40 Car Seat Project Are the car seats applicable to all Omanis or only some Well, it’s a project for children’s car seats in Oman. We started it with 40 car seats and give them out free for 40 babies. To continue this, we get more donors to buy more car seats and give them to new born babies in Oman. What are your next projects I have many in my mind that I am working on and will reveal them closer to the time, but one of them is to start touring for road safety around Oman, in the aim of visiting many cities and villages to spread awareness regarding road safety. Please spread the word of what Awladna Campaign is trying to do and you might be able to save a life in doing so. The simple act of wearing a seatbelt is important and it can save your life. Y is always trying to get this message across to our readers, but yet, we still see adults endangering their children and themselves everyday. Whether it is to tell off your mum, dad, aunt or uncle, friend, neighbour or even your boss – WEAR YOUR SEATBELT or DON’T CARRY YOUR CHILD UPFRONT, EDUCATE YOUR KIDS ON BEHAVING IN A CAR or DON’T USE YOUR MOBILE WHILE DRIVING – and risking them getting upset with you, then it is surely worth it! Spread the word, and save lives. Get in touch with this inspirational campaign leader and find out how YOU can help out by logging onto www.awladnaoman.org. karima@y-oman.com 23
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