Fourteen Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) students recently spent eight days in the Philippines studying Filipino migration and the migrant worker process.

Organised and run by GU-Q’s Community Engagement Program (CEP), this particular service trip fell under the theme of labour and migration. The goal was for students to gain a broader academic and a deeper personal understanding of why and how Filipinos go overseas to work.  

During the CEP trip, the Georgetown students studied the causes of migration, whom the migration system benefits and whom it does not, the variety of stakeholders in the migration process, and the relationship between development and migration.

This level of study involved meeting with a variety of relevant organisations, including the Philippines Overseas Employment Agency, the Overseas Worker Welfare Administration, the Migrant Forum of Asia, the Center for Migrant Advocacy, and the UGAT Foundation.

While in the Philippines, the students also met with former, current, and future migrants in order to gain a more personal understanding of the various motivations to migrate.

When asked why the CEP chose the Philippines for this service trip, GU-Q’s Senior Student Development Officer Alex Silberman said that the country has one of the most widely-acclaimed migration regulatory systems in the world, including extensive government administration.

Silberman explained: “The Philippines economy draws significant value from remittances from its 10 million overseas workers. Consequently, the Philippines is an ideal country in which to gain a first-hand understanding of migration. Moreover, as Qatar has a large Filipino community, including many service providers who work in the Georgetown building, we felt that visiting the Philippines would be a valuable experience for our students.”

The service trip included CEP partnering with the non-profit housing provider Habitat for Humanity.  This partnership had the students rolling up their shirtsleeves to help build housing in an underserved Philippine community in Quezon City. The Georgetown students worked on the construction site for three days, during which they actively engaged with local community members, which helped them to understand better the culture of the Philippines and Filipino views on migration.

CEP Student Leader Asli Altinisik from Class of 2016 said, “The service trip to the Philippines was not only physically demanding but also intellectually demanding. It may look like we went there to help make a change in society but, at the end of the week, it was we ourselves who had changed the most.”

Before heading to the Philippines, all student participants received a 12-hour course on migration, which included a close examination of migrant labour in Qatar. The students also were required to complete a top-quality research project in order to join the trip. Projects included news articles, creative stories, and short documentary films.

The 14 students were accompanied on the service trip by three staff facilitators:  Student Development Officer Jacqui Snell, Community-Based Learning Administrator Uday Rosario, and Silberman. Anthropologist Dr Elizabeth Andretta also joined the group, sharing her expertise and experience with her Georgetown students.