The Immersion Groups Program started in 2006 as a collaborative way among the North American Province and the Latin American Region. Brother Stephen Casey (ERCBNA) and Brother Paul Keohane (LAR) lead the program

More than a hundred immersion groups, and more than a thousand people have lived this experience in Lima and Cochabamba.

In Lima, each immersion group builds a prefabricated house for a family in extreme poverty. The families live on the hills in Canto Grande or Jicamarca, two neighborhoods hit hard by poverty. Building a prefabricated house costs approximately $ 1,500. Each immersion group gathers sufficient amount of money to build a small house and to make small donations of school supplies or used clothing for families.

In preparation, Brothers Stephen and Paul visit the families on the hill of Canto Grande and Jicamarca, together with the neighbors decide which families should receive a prefabricated house. All families who receive a house live in extreme poverty. Thus, the family contributes in kind, with work, for the construction of the prefabricated house. Afterwards, it is painted with the preferred color of the family.

The Brothers do a follow up with the families through visits, accompanying them to solve small difficulties related to the education of their children, health or sanitation.

The immersion program changes lives not only of the families who now live in better conditions but also of the participants who experience life from another perspective.

An essential part of the immersion program is having time to reflect on the service.

It is a time of personal reflection, group sharing and community prayer. The purpose is to awaken the social consciousness in the participants of the immersion group.

Editor's Note: It is with sadness that we report, that since this article was written, Brother Paul Keohane passed away in Ireland on September 19, 2019. We fondly remember Brother Paul and all he contributed to the immersion program.
May he rest in peace.