- Written by by Queen Munguti for Kenyakidz
Kenyan children have a chance to learn about traffic rules at the Nairobi Children Traffic Park in a bid to increase road safety in the country.
According to a 2014 report by the Kenya Traffic Police department it is estimated that 620 children under the age of 16 died from road accidents out of 2,907 road accident related deaths.
“The park is focused on teaching young children on road safety,” said Maryanna Munyendo, the founder of Simba Safe, an organization that teaches children and guardians about road safety. “On any given day, there are traffic police at the park that give visitors at the park a tour and teach them about road safety.”
The traffic park, which is located along Uhuru way , is run by the Kenya Urban Roads Authority, but organizations such a Simba Safe and schools use the park to teach children about traffic rules and safety.
Simba Safe for example, holds events every other month that focus only on road safety. “For children learning is through repetition, they learn about traffic rules in schools, at home and from these events,” said Munyendo. “What we have noted from this is that the more they hear about it, the better they implement it.”
Simba Safe encourages parents or guardians to attend the events so as to reinforce the lessons when they are walking with them for “practice”.
“Our events are usually targeted for children from kindergarten to upper class, that is when the brain is still under development and the best time for a child to learn,” she said. “In terms of traffic safety, the most important thing they should learn is crossing the road, safe places that they can cross the road and the traffic signs.
“We also teach their parents and guardians how to be proactive and tell them to be assertive when it comes to teaching their children about road safety.”
To get in touch with Simba Safe and learn more about road safety, you can call them on: 0715856885. Entry is free at the park.