Initiatives to improve road safety in Harare have created opportunities for local organizations involved in creating more awareness about the prevention of traffic accidents.
Sam Nyaude, founder and executive director of Road Safe Zimbabwe Trust, is playing a key role in complementing the drive by the City of Harare to reduce the high number of road fatalities being recorded in the country’s capital.
The Road Safe Zimbabwe campaign was established by Sam as a vehicle to reduce road carnage by pushing for road safety priority as an urgent health issue in Zimbabwe. It is a non-governmental and apolitical organization that also offers road victims the support they require during post-trauma and rehabilitation interventions.
According to statistics, road injuries have emerged as the leading killer of young people between the 5 to 30 years age groups.
Most of the victims on the receiving end of these fatalities are children, who are not only among the most vulnerable category of road users but are also the future of the country.
Through his work at Road Safe Zimbabwe Trust, Sam and his colleagues have made it a priority to positively influence safer behavior by all road users as part of a broader strategy to stop the carnage.
A trained marketer and published writer, Sam has previously been involved in promoting Destination Zimbabwe as a tourism promotion consultant. He is also the brains behind the Visit Zimbabwe Weekend Escapes brand. Surviving a near fatal road crash changed his life forever and Sam begun to focus all his attention towards road safety awareness in Zimbabwe.
Recently, Road Safe Zimbabwe Trust was part of a project by the City of Harare and United Nations Road Safety Fund (UNRSF) aimed at saving lives by directing urban transport operations towards safer practices and behaviors.
The project – the ACRos initiative – is being funded by the UNRSF. Its goal is to reduce the 41 deaths for every 100 000 people being recorded each year in Zimbabwe.
In Budiriro, the initiative provided a platform for pedestrians and cyclists to engage with the community by means of on-the-ground awareness campaigns.
Posting on his official LinkedInn account, Sam was excited about the part being played by Road Safe Zimbabwe Trust to help bring sanity on Zimbabwe’s roads.
“Being part of the City of Harare Active Mobility Stakeholders Group has created a space for us as Road Safe Zimbabwe Trust to collaborate with other people invested in road safety and cleaner environments,” Sam posted.
He said the time was up for Harare to regain its glory and status as one of the most vibrant and safest destinations on the African continent.
“Harare is nicknamed the Sunshine City but over the years, a lot of amenities have dilapidated. Through the Harare Open Streets project, we get to educate, raise awareness and even advocate for safe journeys to school in line with the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021 – 2030 goals,” concluded Sam.
Sam and Road Safe Zimbabwe Trust, together with the other stakeholders, is helping to set Harare as a benchmark for sustainable, people-centered urban planning in African cities.