HO CHI MINH CITY, October 18, 2012—FedEx Express, the world’s largest express transportation company and a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX), in conjunction with AIP Foundation/Safe Kids Vietnam, today launched the first “Model School Zone Project” in Vietnam, at Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Primary School, Dong Nai Province. The Model School Zone Project is part of the Walk This Way campaign, conducted by FedEx and Safe Kids Vietnam, which aims to improve road safety for children and reduce accidents.
As a result of the project, a number of infrastructure and signage improvements have been introduced at Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Primary School. These include the installation of rubble strips and a speed limit to slow down passing traffic, a pedestrian crossing with traffic lights that will enable the children to cross the road safely, a new sidewalk, and coverage for a drain by the school gates that posed an additional hazard.
To coincide with the launch, Safe Kids and volunteers from FedEx conducted a safety education session for the school. This included training the teachers on effective teaching of safe pedestrian skills, instruction on traffic safety awareness for the children, and other fun activities to reinforce safety messages.
The Model School Zone Project is designed to be replicated at other schools where pedestrian safety is an issue.
“Safety is always our top priority at FedEx and we are delighted to continue with our work to create a safer pedestrian environment for Vietnamese students,” said Nguyen Duy Binh, senior country manager, Indochina, and head representative of FedEx Vietnam. “We do hope that the school zone will be used as a model and expanded soon to other schools and in other provinces in Vietnam”.
As part of its commitment to supporting the communities in which it works, FedEx has supported the Walk This Way campaign with Safe Kids in Vietnam since December 2009. In 2010, a Traffic Safety Park and ‘Click on Safety’ e-learning program were launched at Quang Bien Primary school, Trang Bom District, Dong Nai province with more than 1,000 students, teachers and representatives from other primary schools in Trang Bom District in attendance. In October 2011, FedEx and the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation expanded the Walk This Way program to the north of Vietnam by launching the Click on Safety e-Learning program at Xuan Trung Primary School, Nam Dinh province.