In the European Union alone, unsafe products cause accidents and losses estimated at $34.4 billion per year, according to the European Commission. In November, the European Commission and UNCTAD hosted a workshop on Next Generation Product Safety Ambassadors during its International Product Safety Week held in Brussels, Belgium, to mark the European year of youth. This workshop featured young people from different continents making an impact on safety, and the founder of The Safety Chic, Ugochi Obidiegwu was there.

During the three-day event, professionals from global institutions, private sectors, academia, and civil service organizations shared concerns, data, and best practices across child safety, product safety, e-commerce, online market surveillance boosting safety consciousness, social media strategy, gender lens product design, and legislation. For more details, here is a recap of Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, the young Ambassadors workshop, and a report from UNCTAD.

Image Credit: Simon Pugh Photography

On the 18th May, 2022, The Safety Chic convened the sixth edition of the annual School Safety Summit in Lagos, Nigeria. The theme of the Summit was Child Safety: Importance of a Systematic Safety Education. The Summit was attended by teachers, parents, representatives of the DG, Lagos State Safety Commission, Fire Service,  Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board, safety professionals and concerned members of the public. The DG, Lagos State Safety Commission mentioned that safety was important and must be approached creatively. The Convener, Ugochi Obidiegwu stressed that the theme was important because Safety Education had to be systematic and not just a response to social media trends or news. She urged all stakeholders to take responsibility and be proactive about our children’s safety because children can take action when taught about safety in an age-appropriate manner. This was one of the reasons behind the launch of The Adventures of Muna game app at the Summit. A child safety game app to teach children different safety topics in a way that is memorable and fun.

The Keynote Speaker at the Summit, Dr Ulrike Bollman, Head of International Cooperation, DGUV, Germany shared the strategic plan of the European Network of Education and Training in Occupational Health and Safety (ENETOSH) toward achieving the aim of integrating safety education for children. Dr. Bollman highlighted three fields of action for making safety an integral part of schools: school development, teaching development, and organizational development. She concluded her session with six factors and three principles for a strategic approach. The six factors are language, goals, cooperation, multi-level approach, participation, and resources. Competence Orientation, School Development Approach, and Holistic Prevention are the three principles upon which strategic implementation of safety should be done in schools.

The Summit featured an enlightened panel session with speakers such as Rotimi Eyitayo, Dr Abdoulaye Diallo, Abiola Sanusi, Dr Bisi Esuruoso, and Alpha Djalon. The panelists shared very practical tips and resources with the audience such as the National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence Free Schools and  Minimum Standards of Safe Schools.

See pictures from the Summit.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC, the leading cause of death in children aged 14 and below is accidents (unintentional injuries). In the September 2018 edition of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, “an estimated 644,855 children under the age of 15 were killed by an injury and between 10 million and 30 million more suffered a non-fatal injury. A large proportion of these unintentional injuries (for example, burns, suffocation, poisoning, and falls) occurred in or around the home while others occurred in the community (for example transportation-related injuries, drowning, and sports injuries). These injuries represent a serious burden to the injured person and their family. It represents a tremendous economic and community burden; yet, most are predictable and preventable”.

With such statistics, why are we not passing on safety education to children in a more systematic manner? You might say that accidents are “accidents”, they are not preventable. Or you might say, “but we are doing something about it, there are existing policies, strategies, and child injury prevention programs”. First, accidents can be prevented. Second, policies, strategies, and programs are not enough if they cannot be integrated into the normal daily life of children. If we do not take intentional and systematic steps to incorporate safety education into the daily life of children, the number of children involved in these “accidents” will keep rising. But we can stem this tide by including safety education in and outside the classroom.

In my opinion, safety education is the deliberate and intentional dissemination of safety knowledge in a way the selected target audience will understand. This ensures that the audience is empowered to make better safety choices in different scenarios that may arise. Every school day across the country, children are learning an aspect of English and Mathematics. What if they also learned an aspect of safety at least once a week considering that this is something that has the potential to save their life? For example, if fire safety is taught this week, road safety follows next, bullying prevention and other safety topics are spread out across the entire academic term, the children will learn in a more intentional manner. Imagine safety education topics adapted to the age and class of the child across their entire academic journey, wouldn’t that be a child empowered to prevent accidents?

A practical example is a story of Chloe Woods reported in 2016 by the Washington Post She helped her blind grandmother escape from a burning house. She knew what to do because in her words, “that’s what they taught us”. According to the story, her class had visited a fire station. Just imagine if such trips were not just one-off but a part of a comprehensive child safety education curriculum all children go through in school. Note again that for her age and class, a field trip was more appropriate. When teaching children about safety, it is important to state that the complexity of the safety topic chosen must take their age into consideration. For example, when I visit primary schools in Nigeria and Ghana to teach about child safety, I just use my child safety storybook because safety concepts have been storified to foster understanding. On the other hand, when I visit to teach teenagers in high school, I use a different method because they are older and can grasp some other concepts better. All children in school need to experience a systematic method of learning how to stay safe throughout their academic journey and not just as a temporary program.

Outside the classroom, safety education can be incorporated through movies, games, cartoons, and even family bonding moments. One might say, let fun times be devoid of training for relaxation purposes. But entertainment methods are a great way to integrate important information in a way that is rarely forgotten. In 2017, Jacob O’Connor pulled out his younger brother who had fallen into the family swimming pool, and went on to administer CPR. When asked how he knew what to do, he said, “I saw it in a movie”. I am certain that when Dwayne Johnson, The Rock was acting that scene in the movie, San Andreas, he never knew it would equip a boy with the lifesaving skill to save his brother. This right here is the power of entertainment methods to etch safety education in the minds of our children outside the classroom. In my work in raising safety consciousness in Africa, I have seen how movies, games, cartoons, and family bonding moments make safety knowledge memorable to children. Every parent should use this hack. A quick tip for parents who want to incorporate this, pick a topic on safety and teach it to your children during your weekly family bonding moments. Make it fun, make it easy and they will never forget. The day they find themselves in a safety scenario, they will make the safe choice.

Are children not too young for this? No, they are not. Chloe Woods was 5 and Jacob O’Connor was 10 but when a situation came up, they sprang to action because they had been empowered. No matter how much we love our children, we may not be with them all day for a variety of reasons. However, if we equip them, they can act, and this will reduce the statistics of children dying due to unintentional injuries.
Let’s intentionally build a safety conscious generation.

Child Safety Week is an annual community education campaign run by Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) in the UK. It is a brilliant initiative that should be done everywhere. For 2021, it will hold between 7th – 13th June. The theme for 2021 is, “Share because you care”. This is so apt. If every adult committed to sharing child safety tips with the child or adults who have children in their care, it would go a long way to reduce avoidable accidents affecting children.

Activities are a great way to make the children a part of the process and to internalise their learning. Here are some activity ideas for you. They can be implemented by both teachers and parents.

1) Drama presentation 

2) Debates 

3) Book reading sessions 

4) Poetry recitation 

5) Short speaking presentation

How can this be implemented?

As a class teacher, 

1) Pick a topic, teach on it and give them a group task that can be presented to the class

2) Teach a single tip on any area of child safety each day

3) Give an assignment that causes them to research, learn and share their findings with you

As a school owner,

1) Every day throughout child safety week, a safety topic should be taught during assembly

2) Each class can be assigned to prepare a presentation on different topics. Presentations will be made at a communal school event so that everyone learns something new from other classes

3) Invite a safety professional 

As a parent, you do not have to wait for the school. Consider the following:

1) Having a conversation with your child

2) Playing a safety game (check out our Safety CheckUp game)

3) Reading a child safety story book with your child (check out our child safety story book series)

4) Giving your children a project on a safety topic and asking them to present to the family during a family bonding time

Things to note

1) You do not have to break the bank. Keep it simple and fun

2) You do not have to do everything. If all you do is one of the points, it’s better than doing nothing

3) There are many points not mentioned here because this is just a guide to get your creative juices flowing

We share because we care. We share because it breaks the cycle of ignorance. We share because an empowered child can act right in an unsafe situation.

Plan to do something for Child Safety Week 2021. Remember, don’t speak “at” the children instead involve them in the process so that they can internalise the knowledge. You must always seek ways to share safety knowledge with children.

Share with others.

According to a UNICEF report on developing countries, every year, 2 million children under the age of 15 experience accidents in and around the home. This is why I believe we must equip our children with basic knowledge on different safety topics. However, we must also ensure the content on each topic is age appropriate.

How can you do this?
Every week, during what I famously call a “family safety meeting”, introduce one safety topic. This “meeting” can happen during a regular bonding time that happens between parents and children. The atmosphere of fun and relaxation is a great time to teach about these life-saving topics without sounding too formal.

What topics should you cover?
1) Child Sexual Abuse
This is important because your child can be abused by adults and even other children.

2) Bullying/Cyberbullying
This keeps showing up everywhere. Teach them what to do before and when they encounter/experience this.

3) Fire safety
We have lost children to fire because they were not sure on how to act in a smoke-filled building.

4) Slips, Trips and Falls
Falls are so common and often taken for granted. Teach the basic tips to avoid it. As little as paying more attention and reducing distraction goes a long way.

5) Online Safety
With the rise in online threats and use of online methods for education and entertainment, children should be informed.

6) Substance Abuse
This is an epidemic among a section of our young people. Teach them how this can show up, how to avoid peer pressure and how to stay safe.

7) Preventing abduction
Don’t take this for granted. Empower them with simple tips that can shield them from perpetrators.

8) Road safety
We still have children taking risks on the roads. Due to their age, they may not be able to accurately gauge the speed at which a vehicle can get to them. Teach them to avoid risky behaviour

9) First aid
The age of the child determines what you can teach here. Don’t say, “God forbid”, anything can happen anywhere and any time.

10) Electrical safety
This deserves separate mention because many adults display unsafe behaviour around electrical sources. Children model what they see, so you must teach and ACT right.

Is this an exhaustive list?
No. In the coming weeks, I’d expound on these topics and add more.

Isn’t this too much for children?
Technically, no. Our children should be in a safe world but when we cannot vouch for certain things, it’s best to equip them before something bad happens. Giving it to them in small bits over a period of time will not be overwhelming.

It’s better to have the knowledge and not need it than need it and not have it.

Will you be an ambassador for child safety and share this with your network?

#TheSafetyChic
Intentionally grooming a safety conscious generation

Ugochi Obidiegwu is a Social Development Strategist with a specialty in developing products, programmes and providing policy advisory on pressing development issues affecting young Africans. Her major work pillars are around ensuring child safety, reducing substance abuse in youths and providing strategy for social impact initiatives. She is the author of a child safety storybook series available in English and French, co-creator of an online safety game for children and a developer of social impact apps (The Safety Chic Compass and UProgramme).

Group activities with the children

Over 7000 children in Nigeria and Ghana have benefitted directly from her Train Them Young Initiative (#2TYI). Her books are self-published on Amazon and have sold in several countries. She also convenes the annual School Safety Summit where stakeholders convene to identify safety challenges to school children and proffer solutions to them. Her engagement with teachers and parents has reached over 3000 individuals. In order to reduce substance abuse, she rolled out a programme where she equips recovered drug users in the Northern part of the country with relevant digital skills to aid smooth reintegration into society.

Panel session with agencies

Ugochi is a 2016 YALI Regional Leadership Centre Fellow, 2018 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneur, 2018 Mandela Washington Fellow and 2018/2019 Regional Advisory Board member of the Fellowship proffering advice to USAID and IREX on matters concerning the Fellowship. In 2020, she was listed alongside Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Angelique Kidjo, Peace Hyde and others on the WeForGood list of 100 women creating a better Africa in commemoration of International Women’s Day. Her work in safety education during the pandemic was featured by the UN OHCHR. Her work has footprints in several countries and in both local and foreign media such as She Leads Africa, YALI Network, Bellanaija, Guardian Nigeria, Plus TV, TVC, News Central, WazobiaFMto mention a few. She is also a TEDx Speaker.

In 2019, she won the 2019 AFRISAFE award in the Shining Star category due to her contributions in the safety industry. She is currently a member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) and the World Safety Organisation where she made a presentation on grooming the future workforce at its annual Symposium in Las Vegas. The European Network Education and Training in Occupational Safety and Health (ENETOSH) website profiled her work as good practice for member countries. Ugochi Obidiegwu is committed to introducing innovative programmes and products that enhance social development in young Africans.

We are super excited that the work we do here led by our Managing Partner, Ugochi Obidiegwu was featured on the website of the UN OHCHR. Ugochi was one of the African women featured in a publication by the UN OCHCR tagged “On the frontlines: Defending rights in the time of COVID-19″.

An excerpt reads,

One of the major challenges during the pandemic was the proliferation of false information, causing more fear and panic than the virus itself. That is why, Ugochi Obidiegwu, also known as The Safety Chic due to her work in raising safety consciousness, decided to step up her efforts on safety education.

For the pandemic, she focused her interventions on children and adults. She wrote a child safety story booklet on the coronavirus, “The Adventures of Muna: A kid-to-kid guide on the Coronavirus.” The booklet used a story, African characters, questions, colouring activities, and a maze to pass on the safety message in a fun but enlightening way to children.

A thousand booklets were produced and distributed to children in six states of Nigeria. Obidiegwu hosted three virtual book-reading events for children and also partnered with a Nigerian educational technology company to create an online game to prepare children for safe school resumption in a pandemic.

Read complete article on the UN OHCHR website.

To download the publication and read about other African women on the frontlines, visit the website.

Congratulations to our Managing Partner and the entire team of Ulomka.