The main thrust of this program is to open eyes and make students
aware that there is more to the world than just the Ateneo High School and some nearby
mall. Ateneans get to realize how to be down-to-earth, and learn how simple life really
is. Through this experience, they get to cherish the privileges and benefits they
presently enjoy (and perhaps take for granted).
Participation
There are around 4-6 batches that go into different places in Metro Manila
or the outskirts every school year. Most of them are held in long weekend vacations or
during the summer break. Each batch goes to a certain designated "Area" and
stays there for maximum of 3 days. There are around 7-9 participants in each batch. The
participants are required to arrive at the site using public transportation,
thus giving them a more heartfelt experience. They are
accompanied by an area coordinator (a fellow junior with Immersion Program experience) and
a teacher-in-charge. The area coordinator/teacher-in-charge usually makes rounds every
late morning and afternoon to check up on each participant. In case of emergency
situations, the area coordinator is usually supplied a trunk radio or a cellular phone.
Area coordinators stay the entire weekend, while teachers-in-charge come and go in
day/night shifts.
Upon reaching the third day, they bid farewell to their foster families
and ride back to the Ateneo High School campus using public transportation.
Further Reading
- Photographs found in these pages were taken during
Batch-99 A in Area G, Sapang Palay, Bulacan, Philippines.
- Note: Banlaw directly means, "immersion in
water." The projects aim is to cleanse students from their materialistic
dirtiness and immersed them in a life of simplicity.

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