PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT:

Indigenous’ Culture Immersion

featuring PSYDEH and Chicago School of Professional Psychology

introduction

In March 2022, we had the opportunity to welcome a group of students from Chicago School of Professional Psychology to work remotely in the Mexico Field Experience.

In this encounter, the purpose was immersing students in the field of psychology through the Mexican lens, incorporated by aspects of their culture, traditions, history, and some of the social challenges that this country faces like gender based-issues, the impact of covid-19 and vulnerability of Indigenous communities.

THE EXPERIENCE

Students were in contact with experts on social issues in Mexico, psychologists, investigators and non-profit organizations to learn from experts of how psychology is done in this country.

For this program, we applied some aspects of the iPBL methodology, whose purpose is to help students to gain skills like intercultural communication, adaptability, global awareness, critical thinking, and personal development, through the creation of a solution of a real company case.

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With this in mind, one of the most relevant activities of the program consisted in working with a Mexican NGO and helping them to solve a problem of the organization regarding vulnerable communities.

This NGO is called PSYDEH, a nonprofit organization who serves indigenous, rural and migrant communities at the convergence of rights and human and communal development.

PSYDEH's Mission:

“We empower women and their communities to find sustainable solutions to problems by building trust and promoting ownership when engaged as proactive, equal partners.”

The collaborative work was divided in two sessions. In the first part, PSYDEH presented their projects and explained the context of their operations with the indigenous communities in Mexico.

Then, there were brainstorming sessions and interactions with the students to help PSYDEH solve one of the obstacles of the indigenous women in their personal development. The PSYDEH team helped the students to understand the context in which the indigenous women live every day in precarious conditions, and the challenges they face at the moment of balancing their life, help their families and children, generate income and work in their personal life projects.

“It was very good interaction. I wasn't aware this group existed, so for me it was really intense hearing all the different experiences they have had. At one point there was tears on my eyes. It was heartwarming and heartbreaking.”

“Learning about the indigenous communities and how PSYDEH serves them was a very important lesson for me. The PSYDEH approach of bridging psychology with human rights is really great.”

“I truly enjoyed the presentation. Both Alejandra and Isela are very professional in the work they do. I could feel their dedication to the communities they serve. It was very inspirational to listen to their presentation.”

"It was eye opening to see what services can be provided during such difficult times. When you are not used to that environment, it can be overwhelming. They showed us that the work can be done despite the obstacles."

"The interaction with PSYDEH and the information received from their representatives was so motivating, encouraging, and captivating from the creative knowledge that was presented in the pre-session videos. Indigenous community with little or no knowledge of formal education presents an important subject relating to discrimination against indigenous women when it comes to voting. Empowering women and supporting them in their goals plays a role when supporting others. "

We enjoyed working with PSYDEH in this international immersion!

We hope we can bring together academic communities and organizations like these to help the people in vulnerability.

If you want to help PSYDEH, you can contribute by clicking the images or scanning the codes:

Our passion in the academic ﬁeld has given us the privilege of actively collaborating with more than 80 universities, offering professional and extracurricular experience journeys directly impacting more than 4000 students.

Written by:

Eliana Angarita

Campus b Team

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