OSCI facilitates the immersion of Fordham IPED students in Tulungan sa Kabuhayan ng Calawis, Inc.

The Graduate Program in International Political Economy and Development (IPED) of Fordham University sends students annually to the Philippines for their field work. This year, their seven students went on immersion to Tulungan sa Kabuhayan ng Calawis (TSKC), Inc. located in Brgy. Calawis in Antipolo, Rizal Province, a community partner of the Office for Social Concern and Involvement (OSCI).

As a protocol, the students went through the orientation session three days before their immersion. OSCI formator, Floy Soriano, facilitated their activities to prepare them for their community integration. She also accompanied the students during their four-day immersion in the community, which was held from January 15 to 18, 2024.

The immersion gave them the chance to experience the daily activities of the members of the community like harvesting and selling some of their agricultural products, cooking, and eating local delicacies. 

Part of their field work is to also assess the reforestation and livelihood programs of TSKC. The group was divided into two smaller groups, each focusing on a specific project. The first group evaluated the turmeric and ginger tea products and the second group focused on the reforestation program of the people’s organization. 

Although each group has its respective project, they experienced all the processes involved in making ginger tea - from collecting ginger from the farm, which involved walking uphill and downhill for more than an hour, to cleaning, cutting, air-drying, drying through the use of oven, pulverizing the ginger, and finally packing the finished product.

The second group, however minimal their exposure to the processes involved in the reforestation program, was able to see and hear the experiences of the community members through their conversations and visit in one of the fruit-bearing farm sites. The group also had first-hand experience in soil preparation.

The most exciting part happened on their last night where the students, their foster families, and community members gathered together for a meaningful and memorable fellowship dinner. They were very thankful to TSKC for welcoming them wholeheartedly into their lives, thus tears flowed when they bid farewell to each other before going back to the Ateneo campus.