DHL Global Forwarding, the leading international provider of air, sea and road freight services, extends its employee voluntary efforts in Bangladesh by collaborating with Nirapad Sharak Chai (NISCHA) – a movement that raises awareness on road safety – on driver education.
DHL has been partnering with NISCHA on a variety of volunteering activities in an effort to address the lack of awareness regarding road safety in Bangladesh, which takes a toll of an average of 3,000 accidents, 6,000 deaths and 20,000 injuries per year.
As part of the initiative, DHL employees volunteered their time and knowledge and facilitated the training on safe driving and traffic rules and regulations for underprivileged students at NISCHA’s training center. Certificates were also presented to the students upon successful completion of the training.
Prominent Bangladeshi film actor Ilias Kanchan established a social movement “Nirapad Sharak Chai” (We Demand Safe Road) after Kanchan’s first wife Jahanara Kanchan died in a road accident on 22 October 1993 – PHOTO: COURTESY
Nooruddin Chowdhury, Country Manager, DHL Global Forwarding Bangladesh said, “I am excited to be part of an initiative that makes a positive impact on road safety in Bangladesh. Road safety is an important issue in Bangladesh and we are proud to do our part in supporting the education and training of young drivers.”
Ilias Kanchan, Chairman of Nirapad Sarak Chai, said, “Every profession is equally important to the society. We encourage the youths to take lessons on road safety and traffic regulations. Those who received training from NISCHA can share their learning with their peers to raise collective awareness.”
Deutsche Post DHL Group has a tradition of encouraging employees’ engagement in community projects. One key example is the annual Global Volunteer Day, an initiative in which over 106,000 employees around the world took part in their own projects in 2016, investing their personal time in nearly 2,500 projects.
As many employees remain active year-round, Deutsche Post DHL Group operates the “Living Responsibility Fund”, a dedicated fund to which employees can apply for financial support for voluntary projects carried out with local organizations. In 2016 funding was awarded to 114 employee projects in 38 different countries. The road safety initiative driven by DHL together with NISCHA was one of the winning projects last year.
