AIA grants Indonesian school $40k for turning trash into learning tools

Hong Kong-based insurance firm AIA has granted Indonesia's UPTD SD Negeri Papela US$40,000 for its innovative use of recycled waste to boost literacy, promote sustainability, and improve community health.

The award is part of AIA's Healthiest Schools programme, which promotes active lifestyles, mental wellbeing, healthy eating, and sustainability across school communities in Asia-Pacific. Now in its third year, the initiative has expanded to eight countries: Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Located in Rote Ndao, East Nusa Tenggara, UPTD SD Negeri Papela received the top honour for its "Ecolitera: The trash tells a story" initiative. The project addresses both the island's waste crisis and its low literacy rates by transforming trash into educational materials and classroom furniture, while simultaneously instilling sustainable habits among students and families.

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Students collect plastic waste in exchange for school supplies, use ecobricks - plastic-filled bottles - to build furniture, and repurpose old tyres as garden planters. Organic waste is turned into eco-enzymes, a natural fertiliser shared with local farmers, while reading boards and teaching aids are crafted from recycled materials.

The results are tangible. According to the school, reading and writing skills have improved by 70%, over 450 ecobricks have been created, and students and parents alike are embracing waste-sorting and recycling practices. The school's garden, supported by the local health clinic, further reinforces health education and nutrition.

AIA's Healthiest Schools programme seeks to recognise impactful projects and spark lasting change in communities beyond the classroom, said Stuart A. Spencer, AIA's group CMO.

Lee Yuan Siong (pictured, right), AIA group chief executive and president, noted the wider impact of the programme: "From the research we have conducted in 2024, 94% of students told us they now better understand how to live healthy lives and 88% are engaging in health conversations at home and with friends. These are not just statistics. These are lives improved in real time. These are seeds of change, planted by you, and growing in schools across the region.”

AIA also awarded US$15,000 to four category winners: Happy Hollow National High School in the Philippines for Outstanding Healthy Eating; Jaffna Hindu College in Sri Lanka for Outstanding Active Lifestyles; SMP Negeri 43 Bandung in Indonesia for Outstanding Mental Wellbeing; and Tessaban 1 Kittikachorn in Thailand for Outstanding Health and Sustainability.

UPTD SD Negeri Papela's achievement is now seen as a model for other rural schools, with its initiative earning recognition from the local government. What began as a grassroots effort to address waste and literacy is now a regionally celebrated example of how creativity and community spirit can drive lasting change.

In February 2022, AIA launched its AIA One Billion initiative, aiming to engage one billion people to live healthier, longer, and better lives by 2030.

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