Last Thursday, May 2, the Mont des Accords college was the scene of a great initiative focused on raising awareness of road dangers, particularly aimed at young people in the area.
Under the aegis of the National Education Services of the Northern Islands, this campaign on road safety brought together several key players and mobilized students from the Mont des Accords, Roche Gravée de Moho middle schools as well as the Aline Hanson elementary school. “Ride for Life” is the slogan chosen by the educational community which wanted to reach a wide audience during the event organized as part of the Languages, Arts and Cultures Festival.
Awareness of road risks is all the more relevant with the tragic death of a young motorcyclist from Sandy Ground which occurred a few hours earlier during a traffic accident in the Dutch part. A minute of silence was observed in his memory.
Change behavior…
We must not deny ourselves that road accidents are a real scourge that plagues Saint-Martin too often. Faced with this more than alarming observation, Margaux Benaziz, Ayanna Connors and Rogers Gabriel, three middle school students at Mont des Accords, decided to tackle the problem head on by organizing an awareness campaign intended to change the behavior of users of the road.
A call for solidarity was then launched bringing together all the active forces of the territory and this is how last Thursday, May 2, a procession of “activists” of such a noble cause would crisscross Marigot and its surroundings displaying flags and caps. , stickers, t-shirts for a particular ride or walk. Many road safety actors and professionals responded to the organizers' call. We will notably cite the gendarmerie and the territorial police, the Bip Bip Coyote association chaired by Xavier Chabot, always present on a daily basis for the safety of road users with in particular the marking on the ground of dangerous places for motorists, two-wheelers and pedestrians (so many fluorescent bombs used!), the SXM Road Safety association and its president, Bruno Ravier, the Harley Davidson clubs of the Caribbean Eagles of Sint Maarten and Niglo FWI, the Sandy Ground Cycling Club represented by its vice-president, Patricio Carty, the Territorial Cycling Committee of Saint-Martin chaired by Eric Hélan, the Marigot Merchants Association chaired by Yann Lecam, the Solidarité Laïque association, represented by Yasmine Sadji who has worked alongside National Education since Irma for the reconstruction of schools, members of the Cobraced and Jeunesse Soualiga associations.
“Ride for Life”: a campaign that calls for others
After touring the city center of Marigot and its surroundings, bikers, cyclists and pedestrians went to the parking lot of the Mont des Accords college where they were welcomed by the principal, David Desiage, and Julien Marie, director of office services. of the prefecture. Many speakers on different stands took the opportunity to educate students again and again about good behavior to adopt on the road. Other “Ride for Life” campaigns are planned to be organized at a greater pace in the coming weeks. Road safety is everyone’s business!
A nod to Evelyne Fleming, Andy Armongon, project managers to the vice-rector, and Jean-Yves Urgin, host on the SXM school radio station, who contributed to the success of this great “Ride for Life” project. . _AF
https://faxinfo.fr/en/ride-for-life-quand-des-eleves-du-college-mont-des-accords-sengagent-pour-la-securite-routiere/
