A cohort of 36 students wherein 18 boys and girls left Bhopal for their rural immersion programme to Khandwa, a rural district of Madhya Pradesh. These students belong to BSW and MSW degree programmes primarily. The Department of Social Work organised this RURAL IMMERSION during which students are going to study and understand the realities of grassroots and community life by observing development projects and participating with communities. They would also explore the means to engage with the community towards learning from them.

On the first day of the immersion programme , students got settled in Khandwa and were oriented by the a) Targetted Intervention Project- which is also being managed by BSSS- in Khandwa, b) KDSS- a diocesan social service organisation- based on Khandwa, and c) Piramal Foundation-a CSR initiative- of the Piramal Healthcare. Students are to attend daily sessions of community engagement as well and are going to relate it on a daily basis in the field to make this Immersion Programme more effective. We wish them all a happy learning.

On the second day of the rural immersion programme, students learned how to learn from communities engaging with them. Students on RURAL IMMERSION learner the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) by doing it in Deoli Khurd Village, a village that is one of the field areas of KDSS. After the lunch students were taken to Indirakheda and Gadadiya villages and divided into four groups to evaluate four different social development interventions. After coming back from the field, their class on the certificate course on community engagement and participation was conducted in workshop mode.

Students of social work who are in Khandwa for RURAL IMMERSION, on the third day of their immersion programme celebrated women's day by conducting a rally from Indira Chawk to various other places from the town, back to their place of residing in camp. During this they performed street plays and puppet shows on the theme of women's welfare and empowerment in collaboration with our partner organisations there. During the later half of the day students visited Chiruvel and Bhojakhedi villages to assess the positive change if any, that is brought by Micro Solar Domes installation in their lives.

n the fourth day of the camp, students visited the farmer's club associated with Narmada Bachao Andolan, in Temacha village of Punasa Tensil on the banks of revered river Narmada. During the later half of the day, students visited a place called Hanuwantiya, recently brought in lime light for tourism purposes by Madhya Pradesh Tourism.

On the fifth day of rural immersion programme, students were exposed to many rural livelihood ventures run and managed primarily by women through SHG groups or otherwise and studied institutionalised support behind strengthening them.
First, in Chaupal Village advocacy campaign run by women to and the positive changes brought by these, were studied. Under Karmayogini project of Spandan, dialogue with women of employment based training programs like stitching, weaving, motor garage repairing, etc was conducted. In Kotia baar village, the utility and effects of smokeless chulha in women's life was understood by the students. Later in the evening regular lectures on working with communities and engaging with them were conducted.

On the sixth day of the rural immersion programme, students played a friendly cricket match with key community members as community events under the TI project. Post lunch students participated in CBS health check up camp arranged for community members. Students were also given some leisure time to do some shopping and site seeing in Khadwa market and town.

Onthe seventh day of the rural immersion programme, students were taken to the Punasa Dam site where NGO Educate Girls has an operation area. Students conducted some games and events with girls of the government school and had a deep association with the Educate Girls initiative. Students were exposed to community based interventions and programmes of Educate Girls in Punasa Bock.