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After years working in humanitarian atmospheres, I have come to understand that I gravitate toward volunteer positions, NGOs and advocacy groups that focus on improving the quality of life and give a voice to different international groups. From this realization, and from my remarkable experiences both with socially and economically depressed women in Georgia and with my experience volunteering at Bridge Refugee services I have found my true calling: International Social Work. My drive and passion are encapsulated in my desire to aid and advocate for those who are not heard and those that are less advantaged than I. My experiences with diverse cultures began during my childhood. I would eagerly listen to my grandparents, Dutch immigrants; …show more content…
I took a plethora of courses during my time at the University of Tennessee. My courses included: Introduction to Political Anthropology, Methods and Techniques in Ethnographic Research, Effects of Globalization in the Global South and International Resources. These classes furnished me with the foundations of a cultural anthropologist, while my global studies courses that I took gave me a chance to put these principles into modern day context. I loved anthropology and the way it sought to understand a specific cultural while simultaneously respecting their cultural diversity. Despite this love of anthropology, I felt that it was missing an element of activism, something I feel social work does bring. While studying towards my degree, I also took part in voluntary humanitarian projects and worked in part-time jobs. In addition, I served as an English as a Second Language (ESL) tutor to refugees through a refugee resettlement agency in a suburb of …show more content…
Meanwhile, I still volunteered as an ESL tutor with the resettlement agency and began to apply to be a Peace Corps Volunteer, a lifelong goal of mine. My career prospects changed in the year 2012, when I decided to accept my Peace Corps invitation to serve as a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) volunteer in the Republic of Georgia. I now volunteer as a TEFL volunteer at Sagarejo School No. 3, a public school in the small Georgian town of Sagarejo. I was required to learn the Georgian language and trained by Peace Corps to find needs in the town by integrating into the community. Ever since then, I have been volunteering here teaching English to grades 1st-12th. At the same time, I have also been implementing small community projects and initiatives when time permits. Peace Corps has definitely been the toughest job I have ever encountered. I've had to start from the ground up with learning the language, becoming confident in teaching, researching, collaborating and then eventually creating an NGO, and bonding with my host family and community members by being accepted into their culture. With Peace Corps I came to realize that my role as a volunteer is to be an agent of change. It tested me, placed me in socially awkward situations time and time again, and even at times had me question the meaning of it all. What was I really impacting? Can I really inspire a
The value of service involves the social worker placing the needs of the client above personal interests. The social worker accesses their knowledge base to assist clients and engage in social problems to evoke change. Additionally, social workers are expected to be philanthropists by allocating time to pro-bono work. It is expected that such contributions are categorized as volunteerism and does not include the service provided in the professional setting where there are earnings involved. Social justice lies at the foundation of social work. Social workers continuously strive to advocate for vulnerable and disenfranchised clients facing oppression and social injustice. They exhibit efforts in the name of social change in arenas of poverty, unemployment, discrimination, amongst others. Social workers seek to continuously educate themselves on cultural diversity as well as connecting client’s with necessary resources to improve the quality of their lives and empower them to sustain lasting change (Reamer,
Working as a social worker although challenging, is a rewarding career. Social workers assist people and families to cope with problems they are facing in their lives. To understand more about social workers, I caught up with Margaret Jones, who is on a charitable mission in the country. Margaret, as she prefers to be called, was born in Haiti but after the devastating earthquake, which saw her lose four close relatives, decided to relocate to the United Kingdom where she got her current job.
I aspire to achieve many things during my time in the Peace Corps. I hope that I can make a lasting impact on my community and those around me. I hope to help the people of Botswana see what a citizen of the United States is really like in a positive light. I hope to help members of my community achieve goals as a community using my technical assistance. I aspire to come face to face with people who are suffering in ways that are hard for me to imagine and, through perseverance, prevail with a better understanding of how the people of Botswana can be helped on both ...
Because of my culture, it has allowed for me to be more understanding of those that are different from me. The recognition of what it is to be different from what normal American culture may look like has brought forth a new and deeper level of empathy without even realizing. Growing up in a diverse area where my group of friends came from a wide variety of backgrounds has helped me to see the similarities we share as well as getting more acquainted and understanding of why certain groups do the things that they do. With that being said, I recognize that though I may be more equipped to related with people from different backgrounds a bit more than someone else, I know that I may still face some challenges (especially with how this nation is when it comes to race and cultural relations). As a social worker, a bit part of my profession is to create societal change.
My interest in social work could date back to senior middle school. When seeing the news reporting primary school students’ life in Guizhou, I found that I have been blessed and I wanted to render back. While everyone was busy preparing for the University Entrance Examination, I tried to persuade all the students and teachers of the third grade to join in donation organized by me to collect clothes and books for children there. I made up my mind to work on it and call for more help. Only when I specialized in Social Work in my undergraduate, did I understand how I can realize my expectations in a systematic manner.
I strongly considered a career in social work after completing my undergrad school; my yearning for helping and advocating for all children of the world led me to Barry University. With increased knowledge in the profession of social work, I realized, I have been absent minded in the numerous roles that a social worker plays. As advocators, counselors, mediators, and researchers, social workers uphold principles and core values written within the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics. Social workers mission is entrenched in the Code of Ethics. “Code of Ethics set fourth these values, principles, and standards to guide social workers’ conduct” (The National Association, “n. d.”). Service, Social Justice, Dignity
Social work practitioners can use the information from this study to document activities that MSW graduates engaged in relevant to cultural competency. The study will provide current and future social workers with specific details and strategies that they can employ to assist them on their journey toward culturally competent practice. In addition, this research study will offer examples of what social workers can do to build their knowledge, skills, and values.
My interest in social work stems from a love of volunteering that I possessed ever since I was a young child expressing great enthusiasm for church and school service events. As I grew older, I began volunteering for many other community events, such as serving over 200 hours at a local hospital, helping with free cancer screenings, and fitting children with free bike helmets. I even created my own donation drive for a local women’s and children’s shelter. I feel the best when I am striving to create positive changes in my community and for struggling, marginalized individuals. Social services have been a part of my life for a very long time, and I want it to continue to be on a professional level.
The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) is a global organization striving for social justice, human rights and social development through the promotion of social work, best practice models and the facilitation of international cooperation. The International Federation of Social Workers supports its 116 country members by postulating a global expression for the profession. IFSW has been permitted Special Consultative Status by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). In addition, IFSW is working with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The International Federation of Social Workers
Globalisation is a broad term that is often defined in economic factors alone. The Dictionary at merriam-webster.com describes globalisation as “the process of enabling financial markets to operate internationally, largely as a result of deregulation and improved communication.” Also due to deregulation on the financial market, multi-national companies are free to trade and move their businesses to areas where a higher return or profit can be achieved. New technology also enables companies to relocate to areas where labour costs are lower, for instance movement of call centre jobs from the UK to India.
Becoming a social worker would be the greatest and rewarding achievement I could ever accomplish. The social work profession facilitates social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. (Australian Association of Social Workers, 2016, para. 2).The area I’m interested to work in is Child Abuse and young people with disability because of personal experience. One of my major inspiration through her quote is (Mother Teresa 2001) “If you can 't feed a hundred people, then feed just one". I connect with this quote because I know I can never change the whole world but I can make a different in one-person life. After I completed year 12 of high school education I wasn’t sure is social work was for me. I decided to do a diploma of community service to get more idea of what social work do. Studying a diploma of community motivated me more to pursue a career as a social worker. This essay will reflect on my past experience and the things motivated me the most to become social work practitioner. This reflection will discuss the values, beliefs as social worker.
One of the challenges facing the profession is that its impact on social development is not noticeable to policy makers. However, it is one of the most overworked, underpaid, under-recognised and distressed professions (Rwomire & Raditlhokwa, 1996). It is critical that the profession proves its role and contribution to addressing social development goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals, more directly (Lombard & Wairire, 2010). A critical challenge for social workers to be recognised for their role in social development is to demonstrate competency in implementing developmental social work. The Association for Schools of Social Work in Africa (ASSWA) can play a role in developing and promoting social work in the African region (Lombard & Wairire ,
Volunteering impacted me socially and mentally while influencing my plan for the future. I hope to continue helping others and contributing my skills to
The work of a social worker is complex and all encompassing. Social workers work in many capacities seeking justice, liberation, and equality. There work is global, as they work to put policies in place to govern practices. To keep up with societal shifts and generational changes there learning is continuous. As new questions rise so does the need for the continuation of research, not only to answer these questions but to implement into
Social work is a profession which promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships and enhance well-being. It is important to acknowledge the history of social work and the purpose of social work and why it exists. Social work is a questioned theory with different perspectives on what it is and how it should be practised. Social work helps people to deal with personal and social problems so that people can overcome or adjust to any personal difficulties. Social work is a combination of social stability and social change. Social stability promotes individual and social welfare and social change seek to change negative aspects of society. Values are implicit within the law and policy and these tend to reflect the values within society. Personal values can influence the way social workers interpret and implement their profession.