Immersion Program

Learning isn’t always done in the classroom, for the lessons of life can’t be contained by a blackboard and chalk. One has to experience it first hand, in order to understand and learn.

Ateneo High School has always imparted its ideals of being a man-for-others to its students through awareness. As part of its extra-curricular programs, juniors volunteer in a special project called Banlaw or the Immersion Program. In this program, they are sent to lay back areas in Metro Manila or outskirts, and they stay with a foster family over a weekend.

Families who live in these settlement areas have experienced poverty. Most of them are squatters living in the city, and because of demolition jobs, they’re relocated to resettlement areas organized by the government. Even though they can be classified as "comfortable" compared to their urban poor counterparts, traces of poverty are still evident in their community. First of all, their source of water is not that stable, and they all chip in their share to pay a local pump for their supply. Electricity goes by the same method as well. Furthermore, their houses are made from spare wood and rusting scraps of metal, except for few unfinished cemented walls. Streets are mostly dirt roads perpendicularly connected by narrow passages. During the rainy seasons, these dirt roads turn into rivers of mud and water often flooding the low areas. Only the main roads leading outside the area are well maintained.

Employment is very scarce according to most people. Since they were once squatters in the city, most of their jobs were found within the metropolis. That made commuting very tedious and expensive because their homes are an hour away from the city limits. Add to that, their cost of transportation takes away money that would’ve been allocated to more prioritized needs such as food and medicine.

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