Yaounde: CISAL using PROMOTE 2024 to sensitise against road accidents.

CISAL, whose Founder and Executive Director, Julien Danault Mbounga, is resident in France, is among several Diaspora-based organisations and businesses exposing at PROMOTE. 

Danault Mbounga and volunteers of the organisation have been attending to visitors at their stand in the PROMOTE village.

Apart from explaining to the visitors what CISAL is all about and what they are out to do, they also hand out some gadgets like flyers, stickers with messages on civic behavior on the highway.

“It’s our first time of participating in PROMOTE and I must admit it’s a good experience. We set up our stand on Saturday and by Sunday, we started receiving visitors. It’s about education, sensitisation and question-answer on issues relating to Highway Code. We also hand out some gadgets to those who pass by our stand,” Mbounga said.

“Also, our volunteers are deployed throughout the PROMOTE site to do what we do every day on the highway, that is to sensitise the public. As president of CISAL, I’ve been parting part in other conferences, workshops… organised by other institutions because we are equally here to create partnerships,” he added.

On whether their messages are being welcomed by members of the public, Mbounga said: “When we just started this campaign, there was some high level of apprehension but as time goes on, so many people are beginning to see the importance because accidents are part of our everyday life”.

He said their wish is to reduce as much as possible the number of lives lost each day on the country’s road due to accidents.

“It actually an advocacy that we are doing with our volunteers each day on the highway to tell Cameroonians to respect the Highway Code and respect other users so that everyone feels secured,” he added.

The CISAL founder saluted government support through some ministries which provide them with the administrative framework facilitate their work on the field.

“Government supports us, not financially but in terms of administrative institutional and also on in terms of security because we are often accompanied by forces of law and order when carrying out our activities on the field,” he added. 

Mbougna also expressed thanks to the Cameroon Ambassador to France, His Excellency Andre Magnus Ekoumou for the support given to CISAL.

Ambassador Magnus Ekoumou on Wednesday visited the CISAL stand at PROMOTE and was briefed on the activities of the organisation and what they have been doing since the start of the forum in Yaounde. 

About CISAL & its founder

The non-governmental organisation which specialises in the education and sensitisaiton of the population on best practices to curb road accidents has been existing for the last five years.

Its founder said he came up with the initiative, years after he had an accident which almost caused his life.

“I decided several years after to engage in this cause after an accident I suffered in December 2010. This is to ensure that what happened to me and which happens so often should be curbed considerably,” Mbounga told The Guardian Post.

CISAL has been educating and sensitising Cameroonians to respect the Highway Code, to be civic, respect traffic lights, say no to overload, respect speed limits and also have the necessary documents, including visit technique and insurance.

He stated that they have been working with the Ministries of Transport, Basic Education, Youth Affairs and Civic Education as well as the Roger Milla Foundation to get the project going.

Through various actions carried out by CISAL, its founder was recognised by Camer Diaspo Awards in December 2023 in Yaounde. The 41-year-old Julien Danault Mbounga is native of Bafang in Upper Nkam Division of the West Region.