FedEx awards 'Young Road Safety Champion' during 11th National Safe Kids Week

Every year, Safe Kids Philippines celebrates the National Safe Kids Week to raise awareness on preventable childhood injuries. And this 2015, FedEx Express joined the festivities to award the 'Young Road Safety Champion'.

This title is awarded to the most effective student mentor found within the Young Road Safety Advocate program - a peer-to-peer traffic safety education program by FedEx and Safe Kids Philippines. The pool of students come from 300 of the most outstanding 5th grade pupils from 25 schools in selected areas in the Philippines. They are then nominated based on performance as evaluated by their peers and teachers.

The best of the bunch was Ilda Jamil Racoma from Cebu, who was named this year's Young Road Safety Champion. She received the award for her effectiveness in engaging her 4th grade schoolmates in peer-to-peer sessions on road safety and proper pedestrian behavior.

As of this date, the program has reached approximately 30,000 students from schools in Pasay, Parañaque, Quezon, Angeles City, as well as Ilda's peers in Cebu.

“FedEx is committed to educating the Filipino youth on the importance of road safety and proper road etiquette. Through the Young Road Safety Advocate program, we aim to decrease road accidents and improve the overall road condition for Filipino children,” said Rhicke Jennings, FedEx Managing Director for the Philippines and Indonesia.

The 2015 National Safe Kids Week, held last June 15 to 19 at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall, carries the theme “Safe Cycling. Safe Roads. Save Kids' Lives.” This promotes bicycle safety for kids. Its important yet simple safety reminders include wearing proper safety gear, inflating tires and checking the brakes, following traffic signals and road rules, and picking family-friendly routes for riders.