Africa-Press – Botswana. The traumatic loss of a beloved one due to sudden road accidents and the emotional distress experienced among the bereaved families have propelled the Mochudi lad, Mr Ridwell Moje, to come up with an initiative dubbed, North West Tertiary Road Safety Educational Programme, aimed at raising awareness and promote safe road use among the community.
The programme promotes road safety to raise road user risk awareness and to encourage adaption to acceptable behaviour practices. It also links road safety and health through sport to create a fun and receptive environment for learning.
In an interview, Mr Moje, who survived a road accident, revealed that the pain of losing some beloved friends in a road traffic crash could be one of the most stressful experiences one would ever have to endure.
Losing some of his friends due to road mishaps, he said has been unbearable as he experienced a variety of symptoms including sleep disturbance, difficulty in concentration, anxiety attacks and fatique.
He recalled that he lost a few of his best friends on different occasions but fortunately he survived without injuries in all the accidents and coping with the tragedy has been challenging hence he found it fit to come up with the programme to sensitise the public about the importance of road safety.
The programme targets all categories in the society including school going children at primary, secondary and tertiary level.
Mr Moje’s view is that the programme would be of good use to the community especially road users, survivors and the bereaved families as it would help them connect to others and not feel alone in their recovery. Road traffic deaths, he said, cause considerable economic losses to individuals, their families and to the nation as a whole, adding that crashes also cost the country’s economy and productivity by those killed or incapacitated by injuries.
However, Mr Moje has developed a road-training manual, which he uses during school visits and community seminars.
Currently, he has engaged 10 primary schools in the Maun region to educate learners on road safety by empowering them with skills that would help them use the roads safely.
He piloted his programme at the Botswelelo Primary School and appreciated that the response was satisfactory noting that he conducted eight classes after school for eight weeks where lessons were divided into theory and practicals.
He said he decided to implement the programme in Maun because the area was prone to road accidents, adding that he had observed that many accidents happened due to human error.
The majority of people, he said, drove without licenses while some disobeyed road signs. Mr Moje said efforts were ongoing to negotiate an agreement with government, particularly the Ministry of Education and Skills Development, to ensure the manuals were used in schools.
He said funding was a major challenge for the implementation of the programme, noting that his intention was to engage some youths to facilitate it in schools and kgotla meetings.
He appealed to potential sponsors to come to his rescue as the programme has the potential to create employment opportunities and reduce incidences of road accidents if well implemented.
“I need road safety permanent coaches because currently I have been working with volunteers,” he added. “Our aim is to have active road safety clubs in schools and host road safety theatre to promote road safety.”
Mr Moje acknowledged the Motor Vehicle Fund and the Department of Transport’s support indicating that they once funded one of his road safety campaigns at the Makalamabedi gate.
He intends to conduct campaigns on an annual basis with a view to curb the rate of road accidents.
He also plans to roll out the programme to other districts.
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