TOGETHER FOR SAFER SCHOOL JOURNEYS

BY Oliva Nalwadda FROM UGANDA

TOSS-365 was a one-year road safety project which aimed to foster youth leadership in advocating for safer school journeys. The project was implemented in Eastern Uganda in close collaboration with key stakeholders including in and out of school youth, traffic police, parents as well as cultural and religious leaders.

TOSS-365 employed three key approaches to achieve its goals: peer-to-peer, stakeholder partnerships, and volunteer mentorship.

The goal of the project was to create safer school journeys for young people through the reduction of road traffic injuries around 3 school zones in Eastern Uganda by 2022.

ABOUT THE PROJECT LEAD

Oliva is a young woman on a mission to address the traffic experiences of children and youth in Uganda and Africa at large. She is the founder of UZIMA ARI Uganda, a youth-led organisation working to empower young people to lead, advocate and implement local actions geared towards achieving global health. She was also a member of the Youth Leadership Board of the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety.

"I am inspired by the need and desire to change the status quo."

PROJECT GALLERY

• Reduced vehicle speeds among boda boda and taxi drivers across 3 school zones, contributing to safer journeys for children and reduced student absenteeism due to traffic injuries.

• Established 3 school road safety clubs, engaging 250 students in road safety awareness, advocacy, and safer road use practices.

• Trained 60 road safety champions in stakeholder mapping to strengthen local road safety advocacy.

• Convened a national Women in Road Safety event in partnership with government and civil society stakeholders, advancing advocacy and elevating the role of children and youth in road safety.

ABOUT THE LEAD ORGANISATION

UZIMA ARI is a youth-led NGO which aims at empowering young people to lead, advocate and implement local actions geared towards achieving global health.