2008 Thailand Helmet Campaign

[PK]

Not sure if Isara had anything to do with this or not. But all the protesters in Bangkok are wearing helmets!!

[thartley]

I want a pair of those goggles!  You should see my sunglasses I wear to keep the road dust and dirt out of my eyes!

[KitKat]

PK, do you know what they're protesting in Bangkok? 

[acm11]

Hi

i am considering volunteering with isara and have been trying to thoroughly read about your projects.

 i expressed an interest in teaching english and am still interested in this.

But also after reading about your health and other projects thought that some proper research and evaluation of your projects could help convince more people to support isara. I have a qualification in epidemiology. now the first thing most people think is that is something to do with skin. If only i had a dollar for every time some one said this.

Anyway more to the point epidemiology is the study of health statistics and includes monitoring and evaluating health interventions to demonstrate they are achieving a heath benefit. Also involves interpreting base line data ie. providing data to demonstrate whether wearing a helmet statistically reduces chance of serious injury in the local context. Also epidemiological methods can be used to monitor benefit to community and/or individuals of other intervention eg. education programs. Or in fact to compare the benefits of different interventions ie. measure two different approaches to helmet education and see which is the most effective in increasing helmet use. Or measuring the impact of promoting helmet use versus other road safety interventions. It is not clear from your website if you have explored any of these issues.

I think if you want to expand the organisation into a broad range of countries it would be helpful to have some reliable data (not necessarily all numbers as qualitative research if done properly can also provide valuable insights). 

Good data not only is a good marketing tool to show your projects are making a genuine difference but can also be used to adapt and assess projects so as to get best value for money from projects Isara is investing in. I know you do not specifcally pursue donations but even to convince people to change their home page sound relieable data can be very persuasive it is also important in attracting volunteers (both those to work on your projects in country and those to promote your website). Another use for such data is in gaining government co-operation and assisstance as well as to demonsrate to the communities in which you operate now or into the future that your programs are valuable and not just a means of making westerners feel better about themselves (please do not take this the wrong way as i am sure all of you have great motives and I like your idea of using web technology to obtain funds for developing countries and the fact that 100 per cent of the money goes to projects)

Another aspect to evalauating programs in any community is asking the community themselves what they think of the programs. Also often the community is the best place to find out what they would like to see as far as new programs are concerned. Also i would see it as part of the role of collectting data for program evaluation purpose to train interested locals in these methods as i believe one of the best achievements of development projects is in empowering locals to take control of these issues in their own communities.

Anyway just a few thoughts. Would love to hear your responses and would be interested in what level of engagement you have with the communities you work in in regards project directions.

Also providing a platform for for westernenrs to experience and participate in the culture of a developing country can be a valauble outcome in itself both for the volunteer and for their home community and for the community they work as a volunteer in. As cultural exchange in itself can have benefits to bothsides far greater than a holiday in a tropical paradise.

Anyway always happy to use my skills in anyway in which they can be useful and welcome any comment on the above issues. i would be surprised if you have no dealt with these issues to some extent in your dealings in thailand. Despite my professional knowledege i have little knowledge of population health research in a Thai context or research on health promotion in thailand but will endeavour later this week when i get an opportunity to look at what published data i can find.

Regards,
Anna

[PK]

Wow! thanks, Anna. We're always open to new ideas. So any suggestions you can provide would be great!

Isara strongly believes that the community has the answers (and responsibility) to fix every problem they face.  We're not Santa Claus, giving scholarships and helmets and then riding off to another town. We believe in long lasting results and we provide the catalyst, encouragement, and the tools necessary to do the job.  And education is the main tool for all of our projects. Whether it's teaching nurses, the police, teachers, or students. No matter how small of project it is, we always think about the long term benefits. It's easy to give 2,000 helmets but if you don't teach them why they should wear a helmet then the benefits are short-term and the helmet will sit on a shelf.

Thailand is a completely different culture than anything we can relate to. What makes sense to us doesn't make sense to them, and vice versa.  Getting things done here can sometimes be VERY easy and sometimes it can be VERY frustrating. The bureaucracy and corruption of the government and corporate systems is every where. Speaking with the Governor or the Director of Education or the Police Chief is like talking to a brick wall. If you want things done you need to go into the classrooms and that's what Isara is best at doing. We have built many relationships with local schools, police, and politicians. We know who is interested in helping their community and we know who is not. Sometimes I lose my patience when the powers that be are not doing more to fix the problems hurting their community but I remember that we have the Isara Learning Center. At the ILC we don't have any government policies or corporate influence. We can teach the children about the environment and we can enforce the helmet law. And our classes are full so the students seem to like it. lol

What's interesting about the helmet campaign is that the locals didn't know there was a problem when we first came here five years ago (a lot still don't know).  We realized, even though every family had lost family members to motorcycle accidents, there had never been any real attempts to educate the public on the benefits of helmets (even though 80% of the population ride motorcycles). Schools didn't have any helmet policies. The police were not enforcing the helmet law. Every one just closed their eyes and said, "Mai pen rai." ("No problem." in Thai).  A lot of times people are not aware there's a problem until you open their eyes to it.  When foreigners see 5 children on one motorcycle they either laugh or gasp. But a Thai person doesn't even notice because it's so common. And even when you point it out to them they still don't know why you think it's strange. Still, other times, they are aware of the problem but just don't care. The latter is the more difficult one to fix. Fortunately most Thais do care and we see the results of our efforts every day. Isara is not a big organization (which I think is a good thing) but we are making a big difference in the community. The people know we're here to help and they are grateful.

We know Isara is a little different but we actually consider being different a compliment. lol

[PK]

On Friday we scheduled a helmet donation ceremony at Tesebahn 2, the school where Sean volunteered, for this coming Tuesday. A lot of their students are brought to school (and picked-up) by their parents on a motorcycle and none of them have helmets. We're certain that if they're given a helmet by foreigners that they will consider the helmet something special and will want to wear it all the time. We asked the school to provide us a list of students who arrive via motorcycle so that we're not giving helmets to students who rarely need it.

On Monday I will take photos of students being picked-up from school so that we can compare the before-and-after.

[Ginafish]

None of them have helmets?? Has Tesebahn 2 completely been off the radar for education about wearing helmets? Can you get any speech opportunities with this?

[Sean]

I couldn't even get the teachers to always wear them.  I always had mine on and they would laugh since in the mornings I was only going about 100 yards lol.  You should re-iterate the ideas to the headmaster and the teachers as well.

[PK]

Just got back from taking pictures of parents picking up their children at Tesebahn 2. Needless to say it was heartbreaking. I stayed until every student was gone and out of more than 100 students I saw picked up, only ONE wore a helmet. I guess with stats like that there's only one place to go. UP!!!

     
     

Here's a policeman who picked up three children (I couldn't help but say something to him as he drove by.).  And I spy an Isara helmet.
 

As you can see most adults had a helmet. Which means it's time we get some helmets on those kids heads. Tomorrow we'll speak to the kids and give out 50 helmets. We'll then go back after a week or so and see how many are wearing helmets.

[PK]

Just got back from another successful helmet donation. This time it was at Tesebahn 2, a school located near the ILC. A lot of the students at Tesebahn 2 study at the ILC so I saw a lot of familiar smiling faces in the audience.

We started the preparations at about 1pm. Four students helped put stickers on all the helmets. In appreciation for their help we gave each student a helmet.

     

The ceremony began at 3pm. The headmaster spoke for a few minutes and then we started to give out the helmets.

     

As part of the deal they have to listen to me ramble for about 5-10 minutes and then it's time to wrap things up.

     

At about 3:30pm the ceremony was complete and it was time for the students to go home. I quickly headed to the street to take pictures and noticed that all of them used their brand new helmets (even if they were just standing and waiting for their ride home). You could really tell they liked their new gifts.

     
     

Only time will tell if the benefits will be long term, but I'm fairly optimistic that we got through to some of them and those few will continue to wear their helmet.  To help encourage them to continue to wear the helmets I told them I'd come back sometime and if I see them wearing a helmet they will get a free som tum dinner. I think some of them liked that more than the helmet!

Cost of 54 Helmets: $230
Cost of protecting 54 lives: Priceless 

Before leaving some of the kids invited me to play Thae-kaw, a mix of hacky sack and volleyball.  Needless to say I was the weakest player on the team of 10 year olds. (Note: You know you're getting old when you start to put your hand on your knee when you go to pick something up.)

 

The teams played so well I thought that Isara could sponsor their teams when they have a tournament next month in Khon Kaen. More about that later.

[KitKat]

Thank you PK for the great photos!!   Another successful helmet donation!      I could tell by the photos they really liked their new helmets.     Seeing the cart full of helmets was extra special.   It 's a very useful and necessary piece of equipment donated to Isara.  

[Ginafish]

Great set of photos! I'm glad you got to speak to the kids, and the bonus of surprise food coupons is an innovative idea! You'll have to go back next week and see how that works out.

I think sponsoring the team would qualify as a healthy initiative for Isara.

[PK]

It's been almost two weeks since we gave the helmets and about 50% of the students are still wearing them.  We've gone back to the school 3 times encouraging the students and parents to wear helmets by giving candy and about 40 free dinners to those wearing helmets. As you can see it seems to be working.

     

Keep in mind, only one student wore a helmet prior to us going to this school. Now look!

[KitKat]

The photos are AMAZING and show proof that Isara's making a big difference.   I think the dinner prizes and the candy could be the secret ingredient needed to win them over.      Keep buying more candy and free dinner coupons!!   
WhoHoo!!   Isara Rocks!   

[Ginafish]

Lol, illustrates the 50% success rate perfectly I think! I predict 75% success within a year at this school if Isara keeps up the watchdog program. Wtg Isara!

[Ming]

Great job Isara.  That's a big difference you made and if you keep doing it a better world is right there.
Cheers for isara! 

[mepaglet]

This news is much more heartening to read on the internet than following the global economic crisis (LOL) OR the U.S. Presidential election (GROAN).

Great efforts - hope to join in soon!