Motorcycles account for a large proportion of traffic accidents in South Sudan, with drivers and passengers of commercial motorcycle taxis, boda bodas, running a particularly high risk of injuries and death.
In an attempt to promote road safety and minimize accidents, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, under the theme Ride for Peace, has distributed helmets and reflector jackets to 200 boda boda drivers in the Gbudue area.
“The helmets and jackets have peace messages written on them, and we [boda boda drivers] are mobile and carry different categories of people. When they are reading these things I am sure it can contribute to bringing peace to our country,” said Geoffrey Joseph Waure, chairperson of the local Boda Boda Association, echoing the visible excitement experienced by his colleagues as they put on their new gear.
The handing out of the protective equipment took place on Wednesday 24 October, thus making it part of the 73rd anniversary of the UN.
Margaret Mama, the only female boda boda driver in the area, may also have been the happiest about her new attire.
“The safety helmet and reflector jacket will help me do a better job”, Ms. Mama beamed.
Christopher Murenga, head of the UNMISS Field Office in the Western Equatoria region, urged the boda boda riders to use their business as a platform to spread the message of peace as they carry their passengers around.
“This program is called Ride for Peace for a very simple reason: it is not our mandate to bring peace to South Sudan on our own, it is the responsibility of every South Sudanese person to bring sustainable, inclusive and durable peace to South Sudan, and as boda boda riders and as people who are very close to the community who move around everywhere it is your responsibility as well”.
The distribution of the helmets and reflector jackets in Gbudue was the first of its kind in the Western Equatoria region.