MANILA, Philippines - With more 22 million children going back to school, FedEx Express (FedEx), a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and the world’s largest express transportation company, and Safe Kids Philippines (SKP), recently organized activities in Metro Manila, Olongapo, and Cebu to raise awareness about pedestrian road safety in observance of the annual National Safe Kids Week.
Organized as part of the FedEx/Safe Kids Walk This Way program, the activities focused on teaching schoolchildren about road safety and smart pedestrian behavior to keep them safe as they walk to and from school.
The highlight of the activities was the establishment of one-week Walk This Way Road Safety Parks at the Quezon City Memorial Circle in Quezon City, Rizal Triangle in Olongapo City and Plaza Sugbu in Cebu City. The road safety parks showcased a miniature road circuit simulating actual road conditions with traffic signs, pedestrian lanes and a sidewalk. Through games, simulation exercises and interactive exhibits facilitated by FedEx and SKP volunteers, the parks provided an opportunity for children to apply the lessons they have learned from the Walk This Way program and reinforce road safety knowledge which will help protect them from preventable accidents and injuries on the road.
Rhicke Jennings, FedEx Managing Director for Australasia, Indonesia and the Philippines said, “In the same way that we value safety in our operations, FedEx is committed to creating safer, more walkable pedestrian environments for the Philippines community. Through the National Safe Kids Week activities, and our year-round road safety advocacy work with SKP, we hope to use our road safety expertise and volunteer efforts to teach safe behavior to motorists and child pedestrians in the Philippines.”
SKP President Dr. Rafael Consunji said, “With the majority of the country’s accidental injuries happening on the road, it is important to give children access to education and engagement programs to learn about road safety and how to keep safe on the road. We are glad that FedEx is supporting this worthwhile cause at this year’s National Safe Kids Week and throughout the year through the Walk This Way program.”
Hundreds of schoolchildren, FedEx and SKP volunteers, teachers, and representatives from the public sector participated in the activities.
Now in its 6th year, the NSKW was created under presidential Proclamation No. 1307 in support of efforts under Safe Kids/FedEx Express Walk This Way child pedestrian safety program. The Philippines Department of Education is encouraging all public and private schools nationwide to observe this week by creating, or participating in extracurricular safety-related activities.
Since its launch in 2005, the FedEx/Safe Kids Walk This Way program has reached more than 600,000 children from 89 schools in the Philippines through classroom teaching sessions and events promoting road safety for children. The program is currently being implemented in five key cities in the Philippines – Pasay, Parañaque, Olongapo, Cebu, and Quezon City. In 2009, FedEx Philippines and SKP received the “Outstanding International Walk This Way Partnership” award from Safe Kids Worldwide for exemplary efforts in promoting pedestrian safety in the country.