AIA One Billion

“The visitor was unexpected, but his kindness wasn’t.”

Several years ago, Wee Keng Kin Jacqueline suffered a bad fall. The painful sprain to her ankle took her by surprise – but not as much as the knock at her door that followed.

Standing on her doorstep was the young son of one of her long-term clients, there to fetch Jacqueline to his mum’s place so she could be bandaged and looked after. “The visitor was unexpected,” Jacqueline says. “But his kindness wasn’t.”

After 25 years of caring deeply for the health and wellness of her clients, Jacqueline has seen first-hand how care gets passed on. It journeys through communities, across generations, and even occasionally, back to her.

“We often think one little positive action doesn’t count for much,” she says. “But the ripple effect of lots of little actions has a huge impact on the health and wellbeing of countless lives.”

In August 2020, Chung Chang’s AIA Vitality health screening result was undesirable with a high cholesterol reading and BMI of above 25. His doctor suggested putting him on statins given he has a family history of high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Reluctant to go on medication, he decided to change his lifestyle by getting active and changing his diet.

He broke away from a sedentary lifestyle to run 5km four times a week and adding more exercises along the way. It was tough at the beginning but he persevered. He also turned to healthy eating comprising vegetables, fruits, fish, whole grain and oats during the weekdays, with Friday nights and weekends being his “cheat days”.

Since Chung Chang started on his health journey, he has lost a total of 12kg after a year with BMI at 21.8 and improved cholesterol level.

He started bringing his son, who is also a foodie, along on his runs to inspire him on the importance of being in good health and how small steps can make a big difference in staying fit.

An unexpected bonus is how he has, in turn, inspired his friends and colleagues to embark on their own transformation journeys.

“I think getting this scholarship is an affirmation and an encouragement.”

With a mother stricken with heart disease, Ryan spent his childhood days accompanying his mother to the hospital. He vowed to one day become the same white-clad angels that saved his mother’s life so many times.

The odds were stacked against him, living in a single-income family with a father who works in construction. Ryan struggled to pay for interest classes, study tours, or anything of the sort. By persevering in the face of hardship, Ryan earned himself a spot in the Bachelor of Nursing programme in a prestigious university in Hong Kong.

While getting into university might be a joyous moment for most students, Ryan was fully aware of the financial burden that comes alongside this new page in life. Tuition and dormitory fees pushed Ryan to pursue a part-time job, where he had to overcome the new challenge of juggling both work and studies. Through pure grit and determination, Ryan’s academic prowess earned him an AIA Scholarship.

“I think getting this scholarship is an affirmation and an encouragement,” says Ryan. Grateful to be recognised for his years of hard work, Ryan took this as a message to continue fighting for his dreams – to help others like they helped him.

“Happiness is never guaranteed. We want to be prepared for all the bittersweet moments life has to offer.”

Since 2015, ‘AIA Angel Heart Project’ has helped many Chinese ‘Angels’ (children with physical and mental challenges) and their families through fundraising, lectures, camps and concerts, giving the parents a rare chance to rest and helping them rebuild connection with the society.

Yanfen, a project volunteer for 5 years, has witnessed miraculous transformation of many angel families first-hand. Her sincere companionship has reopened many broken hearts, allowing the angels to let the guard down and learn to trust again.

“There’s one angel who sometimes cannot control her emotion well. I spent a lot of time communicating with her and eventually gained her trust. Now her mom seeks my help when she can’t handle things on her own. I feel that what I am doing is truly meaningful.”

“We need to promote environmental awareness for everyone, everywhere. We may not see the impact of our actions now, but it will become apparent in the next ten years how we can help shape this Earth.”

Nathanat aims to transform all AIA Thailand’s properties to become green buildings in all aspects to achieve AIA’s Net-Zero goal.

After deep diving into the details of energy use at AIA headquarters, Nathanat introduced new ways to cut down on energy cost, such as partially adopting manual processes in some areas and changing the fluorescent light bulbs to LED lights which significantly saved costs for the building.

Moreover, he introduced the zero-waste and zero-landfill initiative to the canteen at AIA Thailand headquarters by collecting and selling all food scraps and sorting trash and sending them to be recycled separately.

Nathanat is also an active member of Thailand Facility Management Association. He delivers lectures and shares his experience and knowledge on building management and energy saving to others.

“These initiatives may not deliver much impact today, but it’s a start towards fulfilling our Net-Zero commitment and to promote Healthier, Longer, Better Lives in a sustainable way. I think of the people at AIA as my family which has motivated me to drive energy saving projects so that we can have a better Earth,” Nathanat said.