Helmets and basic first aid bags were presented to over 200 xe ôm (motorbike taxi) drivers in Hanoi’s Tay Ho district on November 14, part of a traffic safety project funded by Global Civic Sharing (GCS) – a non-governmental organisation from the Republic of Korea (RoK).

At the handover ceremony. (Photo: VNF)

Each driver will be given two helmets and two first aid bags, one for himself and the other for his passenger.

The ceremony attracted the participation of representatives from Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO), Hanoi's Vietnam-RoK Friendship Association, GCS, Samsung Life Insurance and leaders of Tay Ho district.

This is the output of the agreement on “Samsung Together Hope Traffic Safety Project” between VUFO, Samsung Life Insurance and GCS signed on June 1, 2018 in Hanoi.

Addressing the event, Chief Representative of Global Civic Sharing in Vietnam Choi Eui-gyo said that the country has a very high rate of motorcycle use, with about 50 million motorcycles nationwide at present. It has also taken the lead in forcing commuters to wear helmets. However, more than 50 per cent of the helmets used by commuters have been found to be impractical and unsafe.

With the hope of helping to reduce traffic accidents and their consequences, Samsung Life Insurance coordinated with Global Civic Sharing to carry out a traffic safety project this year.

The project, worth VND 6 billion (USD 257,000), will provide first aid kits and protective helmets for about 5,500 motorised vehicle users in Hanoi, including about 5,000 students and 500 motorcycle taxi drivers, he noted.

Targeted students are in the Hanoi National University of Education, the Nguyen Tat Thanh High School, the Thuong Mai University, the Academy of Journalism and Communications, and the Quoc Oai High School. Each school will receive 1,000 quality helmets and 1,000 first aid kit bags.

At the event, the organisers called for stronger public awareness and urged adults to put helmets on themselves and children whenever they travel on motorcycles. Additionally, there was a short comedy performance that encouraged people to always wear their helmets as well as talk on how to give first aid to traffic accident victims or even themselves.

Global Civic Sharing (GCS) is an international development NGO, which was established in 1998 for poverty reduction and development of global civil society./.

VNF