The first ever virtual immersion experience for students from the Edmund Rice North American Schools Network took place in the last week of January 2021.

Students from Iona Preparatory School from New Rochelle, New York were the first group to participate. Each of the three days, around 800 students and their parents from New York watched live and interacted with the Peruvian families. On the other end on the screen, Br. Stephen Casey and a team of young people from Jicamarca, Lima, spent three days building a prefabricated house for Huertas López family. Although virtual, according to the participants it was a rich experience where conversations took place around the topic of COVID-19 and the struggles facing the poorest families living on the hills in the outskirts of Lima.

NBC News New York shared the news.