Programme Case Study
Yango–ZRST Safe School Zones Project in Lusaka
A case study of a corporate-sponsored child road safety programme delivered at five schools in Lusaka during 2025
Executive summary
The Yango–ZRST Safe School Zones Project was a six-month road safety programme implemented at five schools in Lusaka during 2025. The project combined school-zone infrastructure, road safety education and community engagement to reduce traffic risk for children travelling to and from school.
RideTechnology Global FZ-LLC, operating as Yango, provided USD 19,998.40 in sponsorship funding. ZRST managed implementation at Twatasha Primary School, New Mandevu Primary School, Mumuni Primary School, Arthur Wina Primary School and Chilenje South Secondary School.
Reported project results included completion of planned works at all five schools, a reduction in measured average vehicle speeds across the school frontages, improved student road safety knowledge and the establishment of school-based road safety structures.
The findings should be read within the limits of the project’s pre-intervention and post-intervention evaluation design. The assessment did not include untreated comparison schools, and longer-term follow-up would be required to establish whether the reported changes were sustained.
Project at a glance
1. Background
Children walking to and from school are exposed to traffic risk where school frontages lack safe crossing points, speed management, clear road markings and visible school-zone signs. These risks are greater where schools are located beside busy urban roads carrying mixed traffic.
The Safe School Zones Project was developed to address these conditions through a combined programme of infrastructure, education and school-community engagement. The approach recognised that school road safety cannot depend on awareness activities alone. Drivers also need a road environment that clearly communicates lower speeds and gives children safer places to cross.
Project objectives
- Reduce vehicle speeds within participating school zones through traffic-calming and road-marking measures.
- Improve road safety knowledge and crossing behaviour among learners.
- Establish school and community structures able to support continued road safety activity and report infrastructure concerns.
2. Partnership and funding framework
The project was established under Sponsorship Agreement No. 11212577 between RideTechnology Global FZ-LLC and the Zambia Road Safety Trust.
Yango provided total funding of USD 19,998.40. The funding was divided into two payments of USD 9,999.20, linked to project commencement and completion of the agreed works.
ZRST was responsible for programme management, engagement with participating schools, coordination of implementation, delivery of road safety education and preparation of project records. Sponsor visibility was incorporated into approved project communication and public-engagement materials.
3. Participating schools
Five Lusaka schools were included in the programme:
Twatasha Primary School
School-zone works and learner road safety activities were delivered under the project.
New Mandevu Primary School
The school received infrastructure and education support intended to improve safety around the school frontage.
Mumuni Primary School
Road safety measures were combined with learner engagement and school-based safety activity.
Arthur Wina Primary School
The programme addressed vehicle speed, crossing safety and learner awareness.
Chilenje South Secondary School
School-zone improvements and road safety education were implemented for learners and the surrounding community.
4. Programme delivery
School-zone infrastructure
The project included a package of physical road safety measures at the participating schools. The measures described in the project report included zebra crossings, speed-management treatments, school-zone signs, speed-limit signs and visible road markings.
Infrastructure delivery was coordinated with the relevant public authorities to support compliance with local road-management requirements.
Road safety education
ZRST delivered school-based road safety activities covering hazard awareness, safe crossing practice, traffic signs and visibility. The sessions were designed for school-age learners and used practical messages suited to journeys to and from school.
School and community engagement
Road Safety Clubs and school safety structures were established to support continued learner participation. Teacher patrons, learners, parents and community representatives were engaged in monitoring road safety conditions and reporting concerns affecting the school zones.
5. Monitoring approach
The project used a baseline and endline assessment approach. Vehicle speeds were measured before implementation and again after the school-zone works were completed. Learner knowledge was assessed through questionnaires, while observed crossing behaviour and participation in school and community activities were also recorded.
The monitoring results provide an early indication of change at the participating schools. They do not, on their own, prove long-term impact or establish that every observed change resulted solely from the project.
6. Reported vehicle-speed results
Post-project measurements recorded lower average vehicle speeds at all five school frontages. The reported average across the five schools fell from 51.3 km/h before implementation to 35.8 km/h after implementation, representing an average reduction of 30.2 percent.
| School | Before implementation | After implementation | Reported reduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twatasha Primary School | 52.5 km/h | 35.8 km/h | 31.8% |
| New Mandevu Primary School | 49.8 km/h | 34.1 km/h | 31.5% |
| Mumuni Primary School | 55.1 km/h | 39.0 km/h | 29.2% |
| Arthur Wina Primary School | 48.0 km/h | 33.6 km/h | 30.0% |
| Chilenje South Secondary School | 51.2 km/h | 36.4 km/h | 28.9% |
| Average | 51.3 km/h | 35.8 km/h | 30.2% |
Average post-project speeds remained above the 30 km/h school-zone objective at all five sites. The measured reductions were substantial, but the results also show that further speed-management work was required to bring average speeds within the intended limit.
7. Education and community results
The project report recorded an average improvement in learner road safety knowledge following the education activities. It also reported fewer unsafe crossing behaviours during post-project observations.
Five school safety committees were reported as active by the end of the project. Road Safety Clubs, teacher patrons and learner representatives were intended to provide a continuing structure for school-based road safety activity.
These findings are useful indicators of programme reach and short-term change. Longer follow-up would be needed to confirm whether knowledge, behaviour and committee activity were sustained after the funded project period.
8. Value of the corporate–NGO partnership
The partnership brought together corporate funding and local road safety delivery capacity. Yango financed a defined programme linked to transport and community safety, while ZRST managed school engagement, implementation, education and reporting.
The project demonstrates how a corporate sponsor can support practical road safety measures with visible outputs at community level. Its strongest feature was the combination of infrastructure and education rather than reliance on a single awareness activity.
The model may be suitable for use at other schools where site assessment, authority approval, engineering design, cost control and monitoring are completed before implementation.
9. Evaluation limitations
The findings should be considered alongside several limitations.
- The follow-up period was too short to establish whether changes in speed, learner behaviour and community participation continued over the longer term.
- The evaluation did not include a parallel group of untreated schools for comparison.
- The available report does not provide full survey instruments, sample sizes, confidence intervals or raw datasets for independent review.
- Average post-project speeds remained above 30 km/h at each participating school.
- Maintenance responsibilities and future funding for repainting, repair and replacement require continued coordination with the responsible authorities and partners.
These limitations do not remove the value of the programme. They define the level of confidence that can reasonably be placed in the reported results and identify areas that should be strengthened in future phases.
10. Lessons for future school-zone programmes
- Infrastructure and education should be delivered as one coordinated school-zone programme.
- Baseline data should be collected before final designs and targets are approved.
- School-zone interventions should include formal technical approval and clear maintenance responsibilities.
- Monitoring should continue beyond project completion to assess durability and sustained behaviour change.
- Future evaluations should include comparison sites, larger samples and transparent reporting of methods.
- Corporate sponsorship agreements should define outputs, safeguards, reporting duties and limits on branding around children and school property.
11. Conclusion
The Yango–ZRST Safe School Zones Project delivered infrastructure, education and school-community engagement at five Lusaka schools. Reported monitoring showed lower average vehicle speeds and improved learner road safety knowledge after implementation.
The project also identified unfinished work. Average speeds remained above the intended 30 km/h threshold, and longer-term monitoring is needed to assess whether the reported gains were sustained.
The central lesson is practical: corporate support can help improve school road safety when funding is tied to assessed risk, approved engineering measures, clear programme delivery, transparent monitoring and continued responsibility for maintenance.