Bismark Mborchie, a Visual Arts Tutor at Benkum Senior High School, is leading a creative initiative to enhance road safety education through concept drawings to visualize road safety education, providing a unique and engaging perspective for drivers and road users.
His motivation is borne out of worrying statistics provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on road safety in Africa, which Ghana is part.
According to the report, the African region accounts for 16% of global road traffic deaths despite having only 2% of registered vehicles in the world.
Despite a marginal reduction in road crashes in Ghana, a report by the Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate (MTTD) disclosed that 1,086 people lost their lives in road crashes from January to June 2023.
In 2022, out of 14,960 reported road crashes 2,373 lives were lost, emphasising the urgent need for effective interventions.
Alarmed with these grim statistics, Mborchie, who was speaking in an interview with The Chronicle, advocated for a shift in approach, emphasising the effectiveness of visual communication.
The Benkum SHS tutor believed that visuals are easily understood and take a strong position in the mind more than words hence the need for a more impactful means of conveying road safety messages.
“A lot of public education on road safety has been going on but it seems road crashes continue to rise killing thousands of people yearly and maiming many others, affecting lots of families and deepening poverty”, he said.
To him, using Visuals Arts to communicate road safety is something that could go a long way to help bring the alarming situation to a considerable limit if not a final solution to the canker.
He has, therefore, affirmed his commitment and readiness to galvanize support to create more drawings and paintings on road safety, to erect them on the shoulders of major roads and lorry terminals across the country.
“As an artist, I believe in the power of drawings so my vision this year is to get support to buy materials needed to do more drawings and paintings to be erected on major roads and lorry stations”
He believes this intervention will help Ghana meet target 3.6 of the sustainable development goals (SDG), which enjoins countries to halve the number of deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2030.
Bismark Mborchie, a Science student turned Artist, followed his passion to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts and Education, with a specialiSation in painting at the University of Education in 2015.
The impact of Mborchie’s dedication to visual arts education extends beyond road safety.
The Benkum SHS Visual Art Department has transformed into an exhibition center, showcasing beautiful paintings on various themes, including climate change, water protection, community harmony, and depictions of popular Ghanaians.
Looking to the future, Mborchie aspires to secure a platform to showcase these works globally, placing them on the international stage of arts.
