HOVITA Championing Road safety advocacy, support and protection of road crash victim’s rights in Uganda. Uganda among other countries has failed to provide effective care for road traffic victims after a crash. Thorough investigation of crash cases and provision of the after-crash care and or settlement, is near to impossible in a country alarmed by the number of road crashes within the east African region.
According to the Annual police report 2020 statistics, there were over 15,000 road crashes registered and 3500 fatalities in the country. The report reveals that crashes have left thousands dead and some injured. The consequences of crashes are many including death, injuries, loss of employment, loss of loved ones, isolation and loss of property. Many people have become helpless, traumatized, divorced, insolvent and isolated from friends. Victims of crashes are never compensated nor helped to get treatment or even legal redress by those who have caused the crashes because of failure to access traffic police reports.
The Visual Realities Imposed by Road Crashes
Road traffic deaths and injuries are a major public health and development issue. More than 1.2 million people are killed, and up to 50 million are injured, every year. The vast majority of casualties occur in middle and low income countries like Uganda among others. It’s on this background that Sam Bambaza founded Hope for Victims of Road Accidents in a move to bridge the visual realities imposed by road crashes in Uganda.
According to Sam, through HOVITA, they have been able to train 20 hospital social workers to support road crash victims, trained 50 traffic and community liaison officers on how to effectively respond to victim’s needs besides, running advocated led campaigns targeting school zones with a call for reduced speed limit from 50km/hr to 30 km/hr within key centers in Uganda.
Sam further revealed that, they supported 10 hospitals that admit and receive road crash victims with medical equipment and helped provide personal protective equipment, artificial limb (arm) and above all trained over 150 bus drivers on defensive driving techniques aimed at reducing the impact of the crash on the lives of the unsuspected populace. Even then, Sam is quick to note that the challenges posed by crash incidences in the country vs. the needs, overrides their achievements ranging from issues of lack of funds to support road crash victims especially if one involved was the sole breadwinner. To the biting effect of poverty where the majority are unable to meet medical bills, hiring lawyers for civil compensation amidst the absence of a legal aid services designated for this purpose.
Victims Cannot Seek Justice Properly
To sum it up Sam says, while rape and murder are considered criminal cases in Uganda with heavy sentences, victims of road crashes murdered through no fault of their own are often ignored and left out of the criminal justice system with no set parameters for compensation. “We don’t have forensic investigators to bring cases to logical conclusion and this has a huge social and economic burden on victims who have failed in their quest for justice. It’s one of the reasons as to why the government cannot come out straight to provide the right statistic on the numbers of orphans and widows of road crash families which has in return affected our advocacy to include a substantive number of the affected families.”
However, road traffic deaths have continued to increase each year with thousands of lives lost every year with Ugandan figures standing at about 3,600 deaths per year as per the police crime report of 2020. According to WHO Report, Road traffic injuries are the leading killer of young people aged 5–29 years in Uganda and the risk of road traffic deaths are three times higher in low- and middle-income countries. To reduce the consequences of suffering posed by crash and post-crash issues, HOVITA is lending a hand in promoting road safety education, advocacy, reducing road trauma and enabling victims to become productive again in society.
At HOVITA, we cannot do this in isolation but seek for like-minded individuals, organizations and good will ambassadors to partner with especially as we expand and strengthen our advocacy campaign for safer roads in Uganda. Surely knowing how devastating the aftermath of a road crash is, HOVITA would like to help bereaved families cope and build resilience through peer support, local group network, and set up trauma support programs. This Organization would also like to provide information guides on navigating the justice system and help VICTIMS access fair compensation for bereaved families and seriously injured victims. Connecting victims with others in a peer to peer network for coping mechanisms and provide pro bono services, and legal aid to road crash victims. Set up an income generating activity (FUNDS) to support victims and finally, provide professional emotional support, practical information, and refer victims during difficult times.
You can support the work of HOVITA by helping raise funds for the construction of “HOVITA” a one stop center for legal aid, physical, trauma counselling and road safety training. With a focus on legacy call, all donors / donations towards this project will have their names penned on the wall in memorial. You can also consider donating an artificial limb, wheel chairs and crutches. Sewing machines for the proposed skill development centre as well as supporting the implementation of a professional driving school within the confines of HOVITA as an income generating venture while also contributing to quality and standard training of drivers in the country. For more information on HOVITA please visit: hovita.org
We welcome HOVITA as a member of the Crash Support Network and thank them for their continuous efforts in protecting road crash survivors.
Hope for Victims of Traffic Accidents (HOVITA) is a registered Non- Governmental Organization in Uganda dedicated to prevention of road deaths, injuries and caring for people bereaved and injured in road crashes. Our vision is to have a community free from road crashes and its mission is to protect the interests of road crash survivors and their families through the provision of psycho-social support, road safety education, advocacy, legal aid and vocational skills training. These have been achieved through a number of initiatives including, partnership building, participation in policy planning, implementation and monitoring, innovation and research, capacity building, awareness enhancement and mentorship. Hovita is focused on steering road safety awareness with a focus on safe and sustainable road use in Uganda looking on from the national, regional to community level.
This article is also featured in our 2022 Spring Issue of Sharing our Recovery
This is amazing work which deserves to be supported fully!
Most of us are survivors if not victims of these crashes and uet, we still stand a risky chamce of getting involved in some if nothing is done to avoid them.
Well done HOVITA Team. 👏👏