Total Ghana initiates road safety education for the Deaf

Total Petroleum Ghana Limited, a leading Oil Marketing Company in Ghana, has organized a unique road safety education for the School of the Deaf in the Savelugu District of the Northern Region as part of its Total Safety Cube programme.

The exercise, organized in collaboration with the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) and Global Road Safety Partnership, is the company’s annual flagship programme, aimed at creating and reinforcing road safety awareness among school children and teachers in high-risk areas.

With the assistance of a sign language interpreter, the children of the School of the Deaf were taught how to interpret road signs effectively and were taken through road safety exercises to help them understand the importance of road vigilance.

With a teacher to guide them, they worked collaboratively through sign language using the various road signs materials contained in the Total Safety Cube donated by the company.

The Health Safety Environment and Quality (HSEQ) Manager of Total Ghana, Mr. Frank Boamah explained that, ‘Total Ghana holds safety as a priority hence, the company’s commitment in organizing the Total Safety Cube since 2013.’

He said for people, who have not quite considered that a potential road user could have a particular challenge such as what exists at the Savelugu School of the Deaf, this campaign is an eye-opener and brings to bear the need to re-evaluate attitudes and approach to safety for the physically challenged.

The Head Mistress, Madam Gertrude Dassah said approximately four hundred students of the school are exposed to dangers posed by heavy duty vehicles and commercial drivers. Besides that, some of the older wards, despite their challenge, commute on bicycles and motorbikes therefore the usefulness of this education.

During the orientation session with the teachers, they expressed their gratitude for the initiative and appealed for assistance from the public.

Addressing the gathering, the NRSC Manager for Tamale, Mr. Alex Ayattah, empathized with the school’s administration and assured them of doing more through his organization to augment the efforts by Total Petroleum Ghana.

He acknowledged the need to incorporate sign language in their awareness creation exercises in order to reach this special public.

This Total Safety Cube campaign was held over a period of two weeks in Bolgatanga for approximately 4,000 school children in schools located along the Bolga-Navrongo highway.

This was further extended to the Northern Regional capital, Tamale, where an additional 4,200 pupils in the Lamashegu, Tishigu and Chogu cluster of public schools benefitted. Each school received Total Safety Cube kit as tools to use for further demonstrations in their extracurricular activities.

The HSEQ Manager remarked that Total Ghana, which was recognized with the Brand of the Year (Environment and Safety) award by the Chamber of Petroleum Consumer (COPEC) Ghana, sees road safety as a commitment and an extension of its core corporate social responsibility and will continue to embark on road safety initiatives through collaborations with its partners.