AIA Philippines recently held the AIA Healthiest Schools (AHS) Changemaker Summit 2026 at AIA Tower in Makati City, gathering student finalists from across the country to present health and sustainability projects built around the real needs of their schools and communities.
The AHS program gives students aged 5 to 17 the tools and framework to take action across four areas of well-being: physical activity, healthy eating, mental wellbeing, and environmental sustainability. Through free, curriculum-linked resources and guided activities, students and teachers develop projects tailored to their own local contexts. The Changemaker Summit is the program’s annual culminating event, where finalists present their work and top schools earn the opportunity to represent the Philippines at AIA’s regional competition in Bangkok, Thailand in July 2026.
This year’s top honors went to Hicming Elementary School in Virac, Catanduanes for the grade school category and Granada National High School-Ballesteros Extension in Carles, Iloilo for the high school category. These two school projects grew from specific, local challenges into initiatives with measurable community impact.
“It was inspiring to see students take real ownership of their communities’ health and sustainability challenges, and lead with purpose and conviction to create meaningful change,” said Melissa Henson, Chief Marketing Officer, AIA Philippines.
“The projects showcased at our Changemaker Summit show what’s possible when young people are given the tools and space to lead. This underscores AIA’s commitment to helping future generations live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives by equipping schools to champion physical, mental, and environmental well-being through AIA Healthiest Schools.”
Turning Waste into Wellness
Hicming Elementary School’s project began as a response to plastic waste accumulating in their community. Students collected non-biodegradable materials and compressed them into eco-bricks, which were put to immediate use in building a medicinal herbal garden. Over time, the initiative drew in parents and local farmers, evolving from a school activity into a broader community practice.
The school’s island location in Catanduanes shaped the project’s direction. With no pharmacy on the island, community members turned to the students’ herb garden to source practical, accessible solutions for basic health needs.
More than gardening or recycling, the project focuses on one goal: strengthening community health resilience by using sustainable, locally available solutions, especially in areas where access to formal healthcare is limited by geography, climate, and social conditions.
A Homegrown Sustainability Model
Granada National High School started with a campus waste problem: dried leaves and biodegradable material had been piling up with no system for managing them. What others might have seen as a simple safety hazard, the Project Compostech team saw as an opportunity. The students studied the soil on their island and found that it is not conducive to farming. This led them to develop an organic fertilizer from the collected waste—what they would eventually call their “black gold.” The fertilizer improved soil quality and enabled the school to grow its own produce on campus, which now supports a feeding program for around 70 malnourished students and their families, including beneficiaries of the government’s 4Ps program.
For many of them, Project Compostech has meant more consistent access to nutrition that would otherwise be out of reach. To keep the initiative self-sustaining, students package and sell the fertilizer, using the income to fund the program’s continued operation and growth.
Building Solutions from the Ground Up
Launched in the Philippines in August 2024, the AIA Healthiest Schools program has so far reached over 32,000 students and trained nearly 1,000 teachers across five regions in the country. In the Philippines, the program is implemented in partnership with the Corazon S. Atayde Memorial Foundation (CSAMF).
The top schools from the 2026 Changemaker Summit will go on to represent the Philippines at the AHS regional competition in Bangkok, Thailand in July 2026, where they will compete with representatives from other countries where AIA is present. AIA Philippines continues to expand the program’s reach, with the goal of equipping more young Filipinos with the awareness and skills to live healthier, longer, better lives.
