Helmets a must for school children, says Minister

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Minister of State for Primary Education, Rosemary Seninde has said that all school going children using boda bodas as a means of transport must put on helmets to avoid negative effects of road accidents.

She was speaking at the ‘Heads Up initiative’ a new campaign by fuel distributor, Vivo Energy Uganda and Safe Boda at Nateete Junior School on Oct.04. The initiative aims to curb road accidents involving children using boda bodas.

“We commend both Vivo Energy Uganda and Safe Boda Uganda for proactively seeking to address this gap in road safety, especially for our school children,” Seninde said. She added that the risks that “we expose our children to while they journey to school every day should be addressed by all if we are to ensure full attendance of government programs such as Universal Primary Education.”

She said this move will support government’s efforts to scale up the levels of literacy across the nation. The first phase of the campaign will benefit 12 public schools located in high traffic areas of Kampala district.

Vivo’s Managing Director Gilbert Assisi, said the partnership will see child helmets donated to the school management who will distribute and manage their use among their pupils who use motorcycle transportation to attend school.