PASIGHAT, Mar 16: The Department of Social Work, Arunachal Pradesh University (APU), Pasighat, completed a five-day Rural Immersion Camp (RIC) at Nginu village under Longchan circle in Longding district on Sunday.
The 16-member-student of MASW II Sem was guided by Asstt Professor Yeshi Lhamu Naksang as a rural camp coordinator.
Under the theme ‘Empowering Communities through Rural Roots’, the students engaged in extensive cultural and social immersion to develop cultural competence and experience community resilience. The visit was initiated with a formal intimation visit-cum-interaction with the village chief Longwang Wangham, alongside other village elders and GBs.
With permission, the team undertook home visits, facilitated focused group discussions, and applied a range of Participatory Rural Appraisal methods like Transect Walks, Social Mapping, Resource Mapping, and Seasonal Calendar, to understand the village context alongside community members. These were followed by focused interventions with children, adolescents, and women, as well as a cleanliness campaign with support from SHG members, youth, and children.
The visit concluded with a sports and games event, followed by a cultural exchange night. This included voluntary dance presentations from Faga, Jaho, Hamoi, and Katchong colonies of Nginu village, an intervention skit on the importance of parental involvement in education and prevention of drug abuse, as well as musical presentations from MSW students.