What if we use Visayan folklore to set up an interactive gamified peer education event about adolescent health and development for Waray teens?

In 2024, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other partners turned over a mobile health clinic each to the provinces of Southern Leyte and Samar called TrucKabataan. TK can go to schools and communities to offer a wide range of health services and information for young people, aiming to improve their heath-seeking behaviors. In January 2025, UNICEF tapped CHSI Philippines, Inc. to design and manage a peer education initiative for teens in Southern Leyte and Samar.

During these medical missions, CHSI will engage with young people to a half-day, interactive event, designed like a game arena where participants can move from one station to another, learning about their rights to identity, health and nutrition, and protection from abuse, neglect, and violence.

Using gamification principles, CHSI designed TrucKabataan Quest (TKQ), a set of short learning sessions in which participants will secure a “quest tool” to proceed to the next station. As they enter the game arena, participants will take on the role of youth questors who have been selected to save Naginid, a Visayan goddess from the clutches of the monstrous Agto. They will challenge different mythical creatures to get their quest tools like birth certificate, blood type, nutrition guide, circle of trust, and friendship beads, representing various tools needed to lead a healthy and happy adolescence.

CHSI will train a core of peer educators and work with local partners to deliver this engaging gamified peer education event.