The statistics are downright scary. Road traffic crashes are the second leading cause of injury death among Filipinos, including children. These incidents are so common that about 100 children, ages five to 12, become victims of road traffic injuries every single day.
Unfortunately, these numbers are only bound to rise in the years to come. As more vehicles hit the road, more car crashes are likely to occur.
In 2010, there were 6,634,800 vehicles registered with the Land Transportation Office. In 2015, the number climbed up to 8,703,236. Consequently, the Metro Manila Traffic Accident Recording and Analysis System (MMARAS) reported that there were 90,258 road crashes in Metro Manila in 2014. Only two years later, in 2016, the number had risen up to 109,322.
If road safety interventions are not introduced, the World Health Organization estimates that the total number of deaths and injuries caused by road crashes may rise by as much as 80 percent in the Philippines country by 2020.
Faced with such figures, most would likely sigh, and say, “How unfortunate.”
But one woman dared to say, “Hey, I can do something about that!”
Paola Loot Bronfman, the mompreneur behind Mommy Treats, the country’s pioneering brand of lactation cookies, recently discovered a groundbreaking device which could help keep children safe given the country’s horrendous state of traffic.
mifold is the grab-and-go booster seat that’s 10x smaller than a regular booster seat, making it compact and portable. Made from strong metal chassis of 6061 aircraft grade aluminium (as strong as steel) and Dupont™ Delrin® 100ST, a super tough plastic polymer for superior impact resistance, mifold weighs the same as a small bottle of water. It is so small that it can fit in a car’s glove compartment or a child’s backpack.
* mifold changed the way booster seats work. Traditional booster seats raise a child upwards to fit an adult seat belt. mifold lowers the adult seat belt to fit the child snugly, taking the belt off the stomach and the neck. It is thus comfortable, safe, and easy to use by kids aged four to 12 years.
* mifold answers the need for a compact and portable car seat which kids can bring with them when they’re traveling, commuting, carpooling, or visiting their grandparents on weekends.
* mifold meets or exceeds the United States’ FMVSS 213 standards, Canada’s RSSR regulations, and EU’s ECE R44.4 regulations.
Paola Loot Bronfman, the mompreneur behind lactation cookies Mommy Treats, is the exclusive distributor of mifold into the Philippines
At the recent media launch of mifold, Bronfman also revealed its car safety initiative, BuckleUpKidsPH. An education campaign aimed at raising public awareness about the necessity of observing road safety practices, BuckleUpKidsPH also hopes to empower children by giving them the proper information to keep themselves safe on the road.
Bronfman, who is the exclusive distributor of mifold in the Philippines via her company Mommy Treats, says, “I’m a mom of two, and road safety is one issue that’s very close to my heart. A lot of families spend many hours of the day on the road. We drop off our kids to school. We bring them to their basketball practice or music lessons. We have them with us when we go on errands. But do we make sure that they are safe and secure inside our vehicles?”
“More than raising public awareness about road safety practices, BuckleUpKidsPH hopes to make buckling up a habit among Filipino families. We want to make the use of child restraints inside vehicles instinctive. We want families to consider it as smart a habit as eating healthy or doing exercise,” she adds.
For more information on mifold and BuckleUpKidsPH, go to http://buckleupkids.com/
HERE, SNAPS FROM THE LAUNCH OF MIFOLD AND BUCKLEUPKIDSPH:
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