COMMUNITY IMMERSION AS REQUISITE
OF NSTP
Levelling Off: Understanding the Essence of Community
Immersion in NSTP
Community Immersion is one important
requirement of the National Service Training
Program (NSTP) prescribed to students, male and
female alike, in private and public higher education
institutions and technical-vocational schools (RA
9163, Sec. 7). In essence, it is the practicum-based
element of NSTP where lessons learned and
acquired in NSTP 1, whether on a semester basis or
as part of One summer Program, are applied in the
enhancement of the trainees’ capabilities, civic
consciousness and defense preparedness in the
service of the nation. This practicum requirement
essential to NSTP 2 is not only applicable to Civic
Welfare Training Service (CWTS) and Literacy
Training Service (LTS) components but the Reserve
Officers Training Course (ROTC), as well.
As a concept, community immersion is a strategy in
community organizing that is sought to imbibe
among the NSTP trainees a better understanding
and realization of the different community
concerns through community exposure on the
actual life situations specifically in the deprived,
depressed, and underprivileged (DDU)
communities. These experiences will allow them to
integrate with other people who may facilitate
them undergo certain changes that will make them
civic-conscious and socially responsible citizens.
The trainees, in their own little way, contribute in
the uplift of the quality of life of the people in the
service areas and, at the same time, develop their
ethics of service imbued with the good citizenship
values of makadiyos (godly), Makabayan
(patriotic), makatao (humanitarian), and
makakalikasan (nature lover) thereby preparing
them as reservist in responding to the call of the
times.
The myriad of problems in the community can be
addressed by immersion projects and activities
specifically designed to improve the different
aspects of human development such as:
 Economic- suggests the financial management
 Social- focuses on people’s interactions and
relationship building
 Spiritual- associated with religion and
relationship with the Supreme Being Translating
the aforementioned aspects of human existence,
NSTP has contextualized the said concepts by
determining the various dimensions of
development along the CWTS component of
program, as per guidelines of the NSTP law, to wit:
 Education
 Health
 Safety and disaster management
 Sports and recreation
 Environmental services
 Entrepreneurship and livelihood; and morals of
citizenry and other social/general welfare concerns
What is a Community?
“Community” is a collective of people with similar
interests and goals whether living in the same
geographic locality or not. The meaning of a
community may actually vary depending on the
objectives of a program to be conducted there at.
Community may be categorized as geographical or
functional.
 Geographical- group of people living in the same
geographical location like in a certain village, town,
neighborhood, district, area or territory.
 Functional- group of people who hold common
values, share common functions or express
common interest.
Elements of a Community
Trainees should be aware of elements of a
community in order to understand the dynamics
thereof.
 Demographics- include population distribution
and density
 History- events of the past that contributed to the
development of the community
 Culture- ways of living of people
 Economy- income level, occupation of people
 Structures- physical, political and social structures
The demographics tell about the movement of the
population in the service areas. History allows to
identify certain patterns and people’s way of
adapting to these changes that can be useful in
plotting activities. Understanding the economy,
culture, and community structures increases the
chances of success of activities since anyone can
provide culture-based and more realistic solutions
to community concerns.
What is Community Immersion?
Community Immersion is a strategy that goes
beyond acquainting us with community concerns
but make possible our participation in their
(re)solution.
Philippines: The National Disaster Risk Reduction
and Management Plan (NDRRMP) 2011 to 2018
 Publication Date: 2011
 Source: Philippines 7
A plan which serves as the national guide on how
sustainable development can be achieved through
inclusive growth while building the adaptive
capabilities of communities; increasing the
resilience of vulnerable sectors; and optimizing
disaster mitigation opportunities with the end in
view of promoting people’s welfare and security
towards gender-responsive and right-based
sustainable development.
Community Immersion in NSTP is devised a
strategy in molding and ‘conscientizing’ students
just so that they may be social aware and
responsible to their communities. This manner
transformation is bent on training the youth to
becoming civic conscious and defense prepared
individuals.
In view of the fact that the immersion is a major
concern in development work, trainees may find it
significant to be guided by the following precepts:
- Trainees should immerse in actual community life
to get to know the social, political and economic
situation of the people.
- Trainees may also undergo certain changes like
increase in knowledge about the social realities,
development of good values, empathy towards
other people, improvement of social skills, among
others.
- Trainees should identify the community people’s
interests and aspirations.
- Trainees must recognize people’s resiliency and
does not rob them on their right to have
community participation and determination of
appropriate courses of action.
- Trainees should be aware of the gain-negotiated
sanction- the acceptance derived from community
relations coupled with the right to conduct
immersion activities.
- Trainees must reflect on how their social analysis
of the current situation is concretized in community
people’s lives. The analysis should have as much
meaning for the trainees as for the community. The
following are the forms of integration in
community immersion:
- Home visits
- Living with selected families preferably with key
informants
- Informal discussions with individuals or groups
- Sharing in household and community activities
- Attendance in social gatherings
- Assistance in production work
Whom Do You Immerse Within the Community?
When one goes to a community, he/she associates
with the people who intends to work with as
partners, allies. Community-based service projects
must be premised on the principle of people
empowerment and not the “dole-out” mentality.
The parents, youth, the differently-abled
constituents, professionals, members of people’s
organizations, other informal and formal groups,
and others who can be potential collaborator of the
project or activities. We do not just work for and
serve the people but rather we encourage their
participation. Community Immersion is
empowering the people towards development of
the locality.
Conditions in a Community Immersion

It is so desired that one fundamental pre-requisite

qualification among those who intend or are tasked
to undergo community immersion is a full
understanding of the concepts and theories behind
the dynamics of groups and community. As for
NSTP, students enrolled in NSTP-CWTS/LTS 2 are
mandated to undergo community immersion for a
period covering a minimum of 54 hours to a
maximum of 90 hours as cited from CHED-
prescribed Program of Instruction (POI), 2007
edition.

Dos and Don’ts in Community Immersion

It is a basic rule that trainees must be well-versed

with the area skilled to communicate with
community people and disciplined to keep
themselves from responding indifferently towards
diverse types of personalities. Prudence, therefore,
orders that community “immersionists” must be
well informed of the prescriptive and proscriptive
norms in the conduct community immersion.
Hereunder is a guide prepared by Dr. Florinda C.
Labuguen and Ms. Emily Rose M. Bautista in
manuscript from entitled ‘Essential Protocols When
Supplemental Reading: Community
Visiting Community.
Development from the Ground: The Framework
for Empowering Communities

In Philippine practice, community development is

defined as a social development tool which aims to
transform passive and dependent communities into
active and critical groups capable of undertaking
development at their own pace and on their own
terms.

This is the framework for community capacity-

building that plays a vital role in the entire process
of recovery and transformation of people and
communities.

The UNDP defines capacity building as the

“process by which individuals, organizations,
institutions, and societies develop abilities to
perform functions, solve problems, set and achieve
objectives.