AIA One Billion

For Dilantha, daily exercise and meditation were always a part of his routine. However, about 2 years ago, during the pandemic, he discovered a new hobby that would not only support his mental wellness but also have a positive impact on his community.

Home gardening was something he took up during the pandemic when he had a lot of time on his hands. Dilantha found that gardening gave him peace of mind and helped him de-stress during those difficult times. He started with a small garden, growing different plants and testing various techniques. With time, his garden grew, and he began growing organic vegetables and lovely flowers too.

During the pandemic, Dilantha wanted to prioritize his health, and he decided to grow his own vegetables at home. He used his organic produce for his day-to-day meals, which helped him maintain a healthy diet.

Dilantha spends at least 30 minutes gardening after work, which helped his mental wellness. AIA HR’s team also encouraged employees to garden at home and organised several webinars and training sessions for employees. This further reinforced Dilantha’s habits – which earned the tile of Green Champion by HR, recognising his efforts in promoting a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.

He went on to include his family in gardening, which gave them quality family time. His children loved gardening, and he shared his organic produce with his neighbours and extended family. Looking at how home gardening was helping Dilantha both in his physical and mental wellness, his neighbours also started home gardening patches at home.

Today, almost all the houses down Dilantha's lane have a vegetable patch, and those families have also started home gardening. What started as a pandemic hobby for Dilantha has now become a community movement, promoting sustainable practices and supporting mental and physical wellness and Healthier, Longer, Better Lives.

Every day, over 100 million milk pouches are used in India, and unfortunately, most of them end up in garbage dumps, adding to the already overused landfills. However, many of these plastic materials can be recycled, and with more awareness and effort from people, we can reduce the amount of waste that we produce.

Despite the initial challenges, Nidhi, from TATA AIA, and her son, Angad were committed to making a difference in plastic management. They realised that by taking small steps, they could make a significant impact. To encourage others to join this cause, they started sharing their progress on social media and organising local clean up drives. Slowly but steadily, more like-minded people began to join them. With their collective efforts, Nidhi and Angad have been able to collect over 10,000 milk pouches in the last few months alone.

Nidhi & Angad’s goal is to continue this initiative and collect 1 million pouches every year. By promoting recycling efforts and encouraging others to take small steps towards reducing waste, we can make a significant impact in our communities and the environment and help others live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives.

The AIA-Tottenham Hotspur Player Development Programme was launched in 2017 as a way of helping people across Asia lead Healthier, Longer, Better lives. Through this platform, young and aspiring footballer, Nathan Fariel Kusama, earned an Academy contract with Persija Jakarta – one of the biggest club sides in Indonesia.

Nathan Kusama was discovered by the Spurs’ Global Football Coaching team at the AIA Junior Cup in 2017 and was one of the 12 best players in the tournament to enter the first ever AIA-Tottenham Hotspur Elite Training Camp in Thailand later that year. Providing him with the foundation to maximise his football potential as well as a pathway to go professional.

Despite the setbacks due to the pandemic, Nathan remained passionate to meet his goals by continuing his training at home to further develop his techniques. He showed great skill and determination which was recognised and celebrated by the Tottenham Hotspur Global Football development coaches. The club continued to provide him with more training opportunities to demonstrate, learn and improve his skills.

He said: “I feel so happy and proud of myself after all the hard work and through all the ups and downs. Thank you to all the Tottenham Hotspur coaches for their unbelievable support and for pushing me to the limit. I am now able to join the biggest team in Indonesia and it’s just the beginning, I still have a lot work to do for the future.”

Adrian New, Director of Football Initiatives, AIA, said: “The AIA-Tottenham Hotspur football pathways are primarily designed to show children and parents the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle. We don’t promise to turn young players into professional footballers but we do promise to help them maximise their potential and achieve their dreams.”

Nathan said: “I feel so happy and proud of myself after all the hard work and through all the ups and downs. Thank you to all the Tottenham Hotspur coaches for their unbelievable support and for pushing me to the limit. I am now able to join the biggest team in Indonesia and it’s just the beginning, I still have a lot work to do for the future.”

Choi Jung-min is an AIA life insurance planner in Korea. He made history by becoming the first planner with a hearing impairment to receive the Golden Fellow Award (launched by the Korea Life Insurance Association (KLIA)) in Korea, which recognizes outstanding planners across the country who are able to demonstrate and deliver strong performance.

Choi, who has 13 years of experience as a planner, has shattered prejudices against the hearing-impaired and has become a role model for others. "As I am a hearing-impaired person, I use sign language to talk with clients, most of whom are hearing-impaired. Sometimes I communicate in writing, which takes more than 10 pages of A4 paper. It's true that it takes more time for me to communicate with clients, but nothing hampers my sincere and full communication with them," Choi said.

After facing many rejections in the job market due to his impairment, Choi reached out to the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disability who recommended him to be a life insurance planner. Since then, Choi has been led by a sense of being on a mission, helping hearing-impaired people by managing their risks. While it is paramount that hearing-impaired people are informed about the benefits of various insurance plans, most of them are not exposed to such information.

Determined to help the community to live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives, Choi also achieved certificates for both recreation and laughter therapy to approach customers with more positivity and a bright disposition. He sees himself as a companion that can help bridge the gap between the hearing impaired community and insurance, allowing the community to gain access and knowledge regarding the benefits of insurance plans.

"I hope to continue breaking prejudices that the public holds against the hearing-impaired that they can't do anything. I hope to inspire many hearing-impaired people to have more courage," Choi emphasized.