There were emotional outbursts by some participants at the public screening of the latest JoyNews documentary, ‘Crushed Young’, produced by Seth Kwame Boateng.
Touched by the plight of characters in the production, guests at the premiere in Kumasi resolved to become road safety ambassadors to drive advocacy for sanity on the roads.
They included chiefs and queen mothers, medical professionals, commercial drivers and transport unions, road safety campaigners, Police, National Road Safety Authority, DVLA and the Ambulance Service.
The documentary highlights the devastating impact of road accidents on children and families and offers solutions to address the carnage on Ghana’s roads which continues to be a worry.
Over 1,700 lives have been lost in road accidents between January and July alone.
The Ashanti Region currently leads with 357 deaths on our roads.
The region has also recorded over 400 pedestrian knockdowns since the beginning of the year, the second highest in the national figure of 1,740.
At the premiere, General Manager for Luv FM and Nhyira FM, James Aglah, admonished the public to allow the documentary to prick their conscience as a people, to begin acting right to save lives.
“Instilling safety on our roads is, therefore, a collective responsibility. For us at the Multimedia Group, we will continue to pursue this as part of our Corporate Social Responsibilities,” he said.
Road Safety Campaigner, Mrs Theodosia Jackson could not hold back her emotions.
“People are not responsible and they take the rules into their own hands,” she observed. “I am sorry to say that we have rules in Ghana but we don’t implement them. Everybody does what pleases them,” he said.
Some queen mothers, who joined the screening session, said they were encouraged to become road safety ambassadors in their respective traditional areas.
“These are some of the things that we can prevent. They are preventable and predictable. If you see Nananom, Members of Parliaments (MPs) and politicians sitting here watching this, for me as an MTTD officer in the region, this will make my work very easy. Please let’s join hands so we can prevent these things,” said Superintendent Emmanuel Adu Boahen, Ashanti Regional Police MTTD Commander.
Donations
The premiere of ‘Crushed Young’ in Kumasi was successful in calling on participants to take action to protect children from road accidents.
Some participants at the public screening offered support in pledges, cash and kind to support two child victims of road accidents featured in the documentary.
MP for Ejisu, John Kumah, offered to have prosthetic limbs fixed for both Moses and Peter.
Head of Jackson Educational Institute, Mrs Theodosia Jackson, is supporting a housing project for Moses with Ghc10,000.
MP for Nhyeaso, Dr Stephen Amoah, also promised 1,000 cement blocks toward the building project.
Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, commended Seth Kwame Boateng of the Multimedia Group for impactful journalism.
