Dar es Salaam: VIA CREATIVE, the innovative road safety program dedicated to raising awareness among primary school students, celebrated its successful conclusion and awarded outstanding participants during a ceremony held in Dar es Salaam over the weekend.
The prestigious event took place at the TotalEnergies Head Office, drawing attention from various stakeholders and featuring The Head of the Road Safety Education Unit in Tanzania, ACP Michael Deleli, as the distinguished guest of honor.
VIA CREATIVE, a program committed to empowering and educating young minds about road safety engages primary school students in training sessions that allow them to express their thoughts through drawing posters. These posters convey essential prevention messages on road safety to their peers and society in large.
The program is made possible through a powerful partnership between TotalEnergies Foundation, TotalEnergies Marketing Tanzania Limited, East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), and Nafasi Art Space, a vital partner in the initiative, which plays a key role in delivering road safety education to students through art, drama, and music.
In his speech, the acting Managing Director of TotalEnergies Marketing Tanzania Limited Mr Ellon Kamau said, “It is with great pride and honor that today our students are awarded for the great art they have created and the messages that they have conveyed about road safety. We believe that the students are now great advocates of road safety and will influence their fellow students to be cautious while on the road and follow all road safety procedures.”
This is the second edition of the VIA Creative program; the first edition was held in 2022 in partnership with Nafasi Art Space which successfully reached more than ten thousand students in 51 primary schools in Dar es Salaam.
This year, VIA CREATIVE worked closely with the Traffic Police Department, providing training to 90 teachers, and 12 artists, and impacting more than 6000 students across 29 schools in Dar es Salaam and 20 schools in Bagamoyo.
The Head of the Road Safety Education Unit in Tanzania, ACP Michael Deleli felicitated the efforts made by TotalEnergies in collaboration with EACOP and Nafasi Art Space in imparting road safety knowledge and skills to students.
He asserted, “We are graced to have great cooperation with private stakeholders like you in enlightening our primary school students, who are mostly perilous to road accidents, in road safety education. You have been creative enough to use art, music, and dance, something which will be indelible in the minds of these students”.
The climax of the event was the recognition of exemplary efforts, with three schools receiving accolades. The first-place honor was bestowed upon Makuburi Primary School, earning them a prize of Tshs 200,000/-.
Mji Mwema Primary School secured the second position, receiving a prize of Tshs 150,000/-, while Kizuiani Primary School claimed the third spot, with a prize of Tshs 100,000/-.
Each winning school was presented with a trophy, certificates, and drawing materials as a token of appreciation for their dedication to promoting road safety.
VIA CREATIVE remains committed to fostering a culture of safety among the younger generation and expresses gratitude to all partners, participants, and supporters who have contributed to the success of this impactful initiative.
