After reading The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz, I have come to understand the value of service. When Novogratz states, “The world will not change with inspiration alone”, she is making the important statement that without having the real life experience and knowledge of a situation, it is difficult to improve it. Being inspired to make social change is only the beginning of change actually taking place. In order for reform to come about, reformers need to understand the deepest part of the problem. Knowing the issues that are occurring, through school and media is never enough in understanding the true root of the problem. Social reform organizations can be established to help people out of poverty, but until one has experienced and …show more content…
dealt with these issues face to face, then these reforms will only be temporary and change within the society is unlikely to occur. Essentially the message that Novogratz is trying to get across is that action speaks louder than words and to be able to change the world; society has to do something instead of just talking about it. Benjamin Franklin said “well done is better than well said” and that explain the quote itself because actions articulate better than words.
When Novogratz writes the quote, she means to tell the world that after twenty years of working in several countries, getting poisoned, being hated by others just because of what she represented, she never solve anything with her word itself. She solves problems and creates more opportunities by doing things that are beneficial to those indeed. The main reason why she writes this quote is to make the world understand that if every single person play the same role as her, the world would been a better place. Additionally, after twenty years working for the development of poor, Novogratz realize that the power of stories mater. By listening others stories, she was able to find a way to help them progress. This lesson is relevant to my service work that I am currently doing because to be able to understand and help others, I would have to listen and know the root of the matter. If I listen to the refugee that I am with, helping them will be …show more content…
easier. The lessons learned in Novagratz’s journey are relevant to lessons learned in service work.
When Novogratz decides to return to Rwanda to try understand what had happen, it makes me realize that leadership is about having vision and the moral imagination to put oneself in another’s shoes. By going to those houses and being able to understand the people whom I work with, helping them progress in a new society is the only way to prevent certain struggles in life. When Novogratz writes, “In the end, goodness triumphs over the bad. It is our challenge to do well and to serve others without waiting for the good to be returned. I’m convinced that those people who cultivate universal love will have good fortune on earth. In serving others, I found light in a place of utmost darkness.” (175) I start to understand the power of service work, to living a life of purpose, and to keeping the flame of hope alive. For me as a refugee who has been in darkness and able to overcome it with the help of community workers, now I can bring light in my service to help and motivate these people to understand that whenever there is a darkness, there is always a light and I think I can be the light that could help them overcome things that did when I was first arrived into this
country. Furthermore, what makes Novogratz’s service work more relevant to my service work is that we both are working to help people to be better than the person they were yesterday. By teaching young refugees how to read and write in English, they will be able to go out in the community and feel like they belong here just like how Novogratz help finance those women to make a better living for themselves. Going to service work lately and see what Novogratz was able to do throughout service work makes me realize that we can end poverty and build a better society, if we start looking at all human beings as part of a single global community that recognizes that everyone deserves a chance to build life worth living. The Blue Sweater teaches me that throughout service work I can build a family and trust. When I first arrived into this country, I met a guy name Dave O’Connor throughout service work who graduated from Providence College two years ago. Dave has been my big brother even since we first met. He keeps in touch with my family and I and he also helps me a lot during my college transition. Without him, I would not have taken some classes that im taking right now. He is my mentor for life and I trust him just as much as I trust my family. This type of relationship is built throughout service work and seen how Novogratz builds a family with the people she works with and also how Dave becomes a brother to me makes me realize that I can have play the role into the refugee that I work with regardless of race. These lessons learned in The Blue Sweater and to Dave whom I call brother motivate me to be a better person and to care for the people I work with especially when I know where they come from and can easily can put myself into their shoes to feel the struggles that they been through. In doing so, it will facilitate to understand other's viewpoints, trying to see the world from where the other stands.
the book i am reading is a novel about polio the book is called “Blue” by Joyce Moyer Hostetter it is a disease that is dealing with your bones and how they move. In this story a teen named Ann Fay Honey had to be the man of the house while her dad went to the war to fight. She did everything around the house helped her dad’s garden cleaned around the house like washing dishes and feeding her siblings. But also when her dad went to work she wasn't the only one doing work around the house she made her 2 sisters and her 1 brother do some work too. As the weeks go by the days got even more busier, her little brother named Bobby was outside one day working on the garden as well as the 2 other sisters and Ann Fay. Ann Fay was telling her little brother Bobby to work harder than he was doing because she didn't think he was working at all.
In the book The Blue Sweater, the author mentioned many interesting stories in chapter five. The main one that really draws my attention is the poverty that these Rwandans women lived in, and how they were able to sustain the hardship in their lives.
There are people existing among us with a special trait or characteristic that makes them stand out above the masses. They are “heroes” in a sense, who perform great acts of sacrifice and promote hope when it seems that the last drop of faith has evaporated from one’s soul. These individuals remind us of saints who walked before us, healing and caring for the sick and destitute when no other man dared. Author, Tracy Kidder (2004), brings to the forefront the noble deeds of a modern day saint, Paul Farmer, through his writing in Mountains Beyond Mountains. He illustrates how a single man can lead nations toward healing, even in the midst of war, turmoil, limited resources, or “mountains” of bureaucratic red tape. Although the book tells a story about Farmer’s life, academic achievements, and global contributions toward curing infectious diseases, the main theme, as illustrated by the book title, is that no matter what a person does, there is always more to be done. Beyond the hills and valleys of Farmer’s journey, Kidder (2004) provides scenes of leadership styles along the way. Is a leader born or is leadership learned? A review of Paul Farmer’s mission, through the eyes of the author, may provide insight to support both philosophies.
People are often faced with many challenges that force them into poverty, which often is out of their control. A person that lives in poverty has the ability to take hold of their lives and go on to become productive is inspiring to me as a student of the social work cohort. Striving to become a social worker and reading this book allowed me the insight of the different people that I will encounter on a daily basis. As a social worker I will come intact with a variety of people that live in poverty, as well as some that do not. The people that I will encounter will be recovering addicts, people that are faced with unemployment that are struggling with paying bills or providing food for their families. Another thing that stays with me is the few that can live just above the poverty line, as well as the many that live in poverty daily. Advocating, counseling, or educating is one area of social work that I will have to provide for clients. In thinking about this, there are many services that can help individuals and family. These services only aid the persons and will not take them out of the condition known as poverty. Families fall in and out of poverty easily during their life time. With that being said, there are families that receive a much needed hands up, which allows them to fall out of poverty. But the fear of poverty looms constancy at their doors. One of the most important things that a person that lives in poverty can do is to strive for a better education. With a higher education there are more opportunities for advancement within the work force. The advancements that are rewarded with a higher degree of education will enable poverty stricken families to a better way of living. Which will provide a higher income, medical insurance for health problems, better education, and better housing opportunities. This is another area that my studies will enhance my ability when working as a social worker.
In her book, Immaculée Ilibagiza shares the power of faith in God through her moving experience of the Rwandan genocide. God saved her life for a reason. “He left me to tell my story to others and show as many people as possible the leading power of his Love and Forgiveness” (208-09). Her book proves that “with God all things are possible”. Her objective is not to give a historical account of Rwanda and/or of the genocide. She gives her own story. She attests that through God’s help, forgiveness is possible – even to those who killed her parents. Her book is meant to help people to let go of the chains of hatred and anger, and be able to truly live in God who is love. Left to Tell is a breathtaking book that proves the fact that “the love of a single heart can make a world of difference” (210). The book is divided into three parts, and each part into eight chapters. The author recounts how God saved her from the shadows of death and helped her discover who He really Is.
In Monica Hesse’s novel, Girl in the Blue Coat, the story completes with a round-trip back to the exposition regarding the main character and the missing Jewish girl through the introduction of similarity between the two damaged women. In the introduction, Hanneke is described as a master-finder for black market items during the 1940’s in the Nazi-controlled Amsterdam, including various meats, real coffee, real tea, and cigarettes. Despite Hanneke being introduced as mentally stable, it's apparent throughout the novel that grief plagues her mind from the loss of her boyfriend, Sebastian (Bas). While visiting Mrs. Janssen, a black market customer, the thought of Mrs. Janssen’s son and Bas pokes her mind, “I wonder if he was near Bas, though,
Popple , P. R., & Leighninger, L. (2011). Social work, social welfare, and american society. (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
... funding and direction, including those of local government and philanthropy, are critical to tailoring programs to the specific needs of local communities, and should be leveraged through federal funding. The final ingredient is responsibility, both personal and collective. Individuals must be empowered to improve their own lives, and the community must support the effort rather than look the other way, or looking past the working poor, who can so easily blend into the background.
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,
Social welfare policy and the review of the YouTube video “The Tip Of The Iceberg: Social Work, Social Justice and Social Action – Darrell Wheeler, Ph.D.” The video gets off to a slow start but once the keynote speaker steps up to the mic, he begins to describe social work, social justice and social action with incredible intellect and very few notes. Dr. Wheeler knows his subject area extremely well and is passionate in leading others by sharing his knowledge.
Not only do we need to understand the ‘issue’ or ‘societal problem’ that many people face and are impacted by every day, but we need to meet and work alongside those whose daily realities are shaped by injustices, while not creating any divides or barriers in the process. Everyday people are affected by the issues that organizations fight for or against, and once we realize how people-centered things like advocacy, outreach and service are, I believe young people will realize their call to action and their potent...
I would to begin this paper with an authentic definition of the Social Work field. Social work practices involves facilitating change—in other words, working with others, not doing something to them or for them(Dubois). Most people and social workers would always use the world ‘help’ in some way or form when defining social workers. Which is true but the confusion come in when asked where they work, who they assist and how they differ from other helping professions. Social workers can be sustain abuse therapists, child welfare specialists, and school social workers. We are not limited to just the department of social services. They can work in nursing homes, hospitals, and even in legislation.
When they are in need we must do everything in our power to make a change. Sometimes this involve advocating for them to see a change in social problems. The definition of a social worker states that they are trained person that carries out work with the aim of alleviating conditions of those in need (12). This often calls the need for social justice. After learning about social workers throughout history, I realize there’s multiple ways to help those in need (11). They’ve been able to implement social welfare for the public.
Social workers challenge social injustice. Social workers pursue social change, particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people. The meaning of this value is to ensure that individuals going into the social work profession pursue change, most importantly with, on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals, and with groups of people. Additionally, this social work value forces social workers to constantly affect social change primarily focused upon issues of poverty, discrimination, and other forms of social injustice by creating activities that seek to promote sensitivity to and knowledge about oppression and cultural and ethnic
To promote social change is at the core of what it means to be a social worker. Change is necessary to achieve growth. Historically there have been uprisings and movements that have called for change that is much needed to a broken system. As a social worker our existence and purpose is to move, to rise up and not only be the change that is needed but to also start the conversations and see it to its end. It is important to build up those who have been put down and to give a voice to those whose voices have gone unheard or ignored. This passage means to not sit ideally by as communities remain suppressed,