Two Indonesian public schools have won an Asia-Pacific healthiest schools competition announced recently in Vietnam.

SDN Papela state elementary school in Rote Ndao regency, East Nusa Tenggara, won the AIA 2025 Healthiest School Competition for its success in overcoming low literacy and innovation in turning garbage into school equipment.

Announced in Da Nang, Vietnam, on July 3, the school received prize money of US$40,000 which must be spent on its own health initiatives.

The elementary school, facing serious garbage problems and low literacy, launched the Ecolitera: Sampah Bercerita (Garbage Telling a Story) initiative, which turns daily garbage into education tools while at the same time teaching students and the community about sustainability, AIA said in a press statement on Friday.

Students collect plastic garbage with payment in the form of school equipment, using recycled materials to make reading boards and building class furniture from plastic-filled bottles, known as the ecobrick. So far, the school has made 450 ecobricks.  

Used tires are recycled into pots to cultivate various nutritious plants while organic garbage is turned into eco-enzyme, a natural fertilizer which is distributed to 24 local farmers.

The project has created a big impact, with almost all students now sorting their garbage and most of their parents recycling garbage at home.

Students’ reading and writing skills have increasing by 70 percent.

The Ecolitera initiative has united students, teachers and families and has been recognized by the regional administration as a pioneering model on how community creativity and spirit can change a challenge into an opportunity for a healthier and smarter future.

 

Mental wellbeing

Meanwhile SMPN 43 Bandung state junior high school won the AIA Outstanding Mental Wellbeing Award with prize money of $15,000 through a project to overcome bulling and mental health issues through a cellular application.

The junior high school, which has 975 students, launched the Bejakeun ("Tell it," in Sundanese) app as an initiative to create a safe and happy environment for the students. The app aims to overcome an increasing concern about bullying and mental health in a digital-first first where about 30 percent of students suffer from anxiety or depression.

The app allows anonymous reports on bullying and is supported by various activities for emotional and spiritual development, weekly prayer sessions, peer-led anti-bullying campaigns and social media outreach.

In addition to the students, the initiative also involves 20 home teachers and 15 staff of the violence prevention team.

AIA Group chief marketing officer, and the competition chief judge, Stuart A. Spencer said that the school competition was about recognizing the extraordinary activities and movements which sparked and created positive impacts far beyond what the students did in class.

“The program is manifestation of our goals to help people live healthier, longer and better,” he said, as quoted by the statement.

The competition received submissions from participants in Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

Each country sent two schools, one elementary school and one junior high school who bested other schools during the national stage of the competition in April and May.

Other categories in the competition were AIA Outstanding Healthy Eating Award which was won by Happy Hollow National High School in the Philippines, AIA Outstanding Active Lifestyles Award given to Jaffna Hindu College in Sri Lanka and AIA Outstanding Health & Sustainability Award granted to Tessaban 1 Kittikachorn in Thailand.

The winner of each category received $15,000.