ROAD SAFETY TRAINING YIELDS POSITIVE IMPACT AT AGWAAYUGI PRIMARY SCHOOL

Some pupils of Agwayugi primary school walking on the road.

By Stephen Odong
Gulu City

The road safety campaign conducted by Radio Pacis in partnership with Amuru District police traffic department at Agwaayugi primary school in Lamogi Sub County, a program that aims at reducing the high rate of road accidents is already yielding positive results in the lives of leaners and teachers of this school.
 
Gum Perom Joel a primary seven pupil of Agwaayugi primary school who doubles as the Head boy of the school said the road safety has made a significant impact on the learners helping them become more aware and cautious when crossing road.

“From the day Radio Pacis trained us on road safety, all the leaners do not cross the road anyhow and that is the good benefit of training, the pupils are now following but before we were trained, some pupils were crossing the road while running,” said Gum.
 
Gum said in every school assembly, as school prefects, they keep reminding the young ones at the lower classes on what they should do while walking and crossing the road to avoid road crashes and they are always obedient to what they are told.
 
Patrick Okello the headteacher Agwaaygi primary school said the road safety campaign should be something which is continuous in order to keep on sending a reminder to the road users on a proper way of using road because he has seen the impact of the training in the lives of leaners in Agwaa yugi primary school.
 
“The road safety campaign held in this school is really benefiting our leaners up to now, I do witness this time how pupils are making use of the road in the rightful way. They used to play and run on the road, but that is now minimal and I feel this kind of training should also be extended to other schools,” said Okello.
 
Egaru Julius, the OC Traffic, Amuru District advised leaners to avoid playing and fighting while on the road and they should stay focused while walking on the road to ensure their safety.
 
He also emphasized that this kind of campaign should be carried out in most schools along the high way.
 
” I think if we continue with this kind of program, it is going to contribute a lot of positive results most especially in every school along Juba high way because this is a big road and very busy,” said Egaru.
 
In the first half of 2024, 239 school-going children aged 5 to 18 were involved in road accidents in Uganda. This statistic underscores the need for increased awareness and safety measures, especially near school zones and pedestrian crossings.