The winner of the World Crossing Campaign has been busy for road safety! The National Youth Parliament of the Gambia in partnership with Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Forestry and Environment and Local Government Authorities embarked on a weeklong nationwide tree planting and road safety campaign, from the 13th-19th September 2011.
In delivering the opening statement during the official opening of the weeklong nationwide campaign, Hon. Siaka K. Dibba Program Officer of the National Youth Parliament highlighted the rationale behind the campaign. According to Hon. Dibba, the campaign aimed at complimenting Government’s efforts in achieving the Millennium Development Goals on environmental sustainability and raising greater awareness on road safety and the UN proclaimed decade of action for road safety 2011-2020.
He asserted that, ‘the National Youth Parliament is a representative network of young people across the country, and it has diversified operations ranging from integrated Good Governance, Human Rights and Democracy to Gender Mainstreaming in youth participation, road safety, youth leadership and management among others’.
The program officer went on to say that The NYP aims to inculcate responsible citizenship in young people so that they can effectively and positively participate in national development.The Acting Speaker of the National Youth Parliament Hon. Aminata Hydara who was next to make a statement revealed the theme of this year’s campaign “Arrive Safe, Plant a Tree”.
The Acting Speaker in her statement underscored the significance of the exercise, adding that, ‘as human beings we are interdependent with trees, and if there are no trees there will be no lives’ Hon. Hydara added that there is need to remember lives lost because of road crashes in the form of planting trees in their names as well inform people about road safety issues and safety precautions they need to adhere to while on the road she concluded.
Delivering the welcoming remarks, Yankuba Colley, Mayor of Kanifing Municiaplity said youth are the cream of any nation, and they should take charge of their responsibilities as young people and take the lead in any development initiative.Lord Mayor Colley challenge the youth to participate in national development endeavors, particularly in environmental sustainability activities and lamenting that our environment is dwindling on a daily basis.
The Assistant Police Commissioner of Kanifing Division spoke of the need to sensitize road users, especially drivers, on the importance of traffic signs and their meaning.He noted that authorities have provided road traffic signs in all strategic places for safeguarding road users, and as a warning to drivers, to avoid the unnecessary crashes that claim the lives of innocent people particularly the young ones.He opined that these traffic signs warn drivers about bends, turning points, bridges, crossing points for people and animals, and caution drivers on speed limits at specific places.
Giving the opening remarks, Hon. Sheriff M. Gomez Minister of Youth and Sports said the campaign is timely since the MDGs are just 4 years before its timeline, while the decade of action for road safety 2011-2020 is just been launched. He commended the National Youth Parliament and its collaborators for the noble initiative, and urged all and sundry to act as police or guardians in protecting our forest/environment and work in line with the pillars of the decade of action for road safety 2011-2020.
The Honorable Minister of Youth and Sports declared the campaign open and planted the first tree of the 10000th tree, while the Deputy Speaker of The Gambia National Assembly planted the 10000th tree at Kanifing Municipal Council and National Assembly complex respectively.During the closing ceremony, young parliamentarians also painted road signs in the city of Banjul to increase visibility of road users.
YOURS and the National Youth Parliament of The Gambia
Last year, YOURS was honoured to work with the NYP on the World Crossing Campaign where Mr Siaka K. Dibba won the best entry and initiated his own road safety project with a YOURS grant. YOURS wholeheatedly supports these planting of trees and the remembrance of road crash victims in this poignant and symbolic way and this is the rationale behind our new Embrace Life Campaign.