Sustaining the gains in advocacy work

It was a productive meeting  for the officers  of the National Association for Social Work Education, Inc. (NASWEI)- Western Visayas   yesterday  at the Department of Social Work, Central Philippine University (CPU).  Among others,  we made an early preparation for the celebration of the Social Work Week in Western Visayas  on June 13-19, 2013.

The celebration commemorates the anniversary of the Republic Act 4373, otherwise known as the Social Work Law. The passage of the Social Work Law on June 19, 1965 has regulated the practice of social work and the operation of social welfare agencies in the Philippines. Subsequently, it has created a new interest in social work and in the field of social welfare. Incidentally, the date falls on the birthday of the Philippine national hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal.

The institutionalization of the celebration is one of the gains in advocacy work of NASWEI. It was in 2005 when  the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Council) of Iloilo and other provinces and major cities in the region declared  June 13-19  as Social Work Week . Enacted  as a  response  to the initiatives of social workers  led by NASWEI-Western Visayas, the declaration is  a  recognition of   the role of social workers in nation building.

For this year’s celebration, we intend  to adopt  the theme of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) in the United States for  their celebration of  National Professional Social Work in March. That is, if we get their nod to our request.   The theme “Weaving Threads of Resilience and Advocacy: The Power of Social Work” is relevant to our context .   Social work is a helping  profession. It gives hope for others  to move on, to move  forward, using their personal strengths,  to create a vision and a plan for what life can be.

The theme is also  consistent  with  our advocacy  work. Likewise,  the celebration is an opportunity to  promote the  profession  to the public, especially to the youth. Many  still have misconceptions about social work. Some have associated or confined  it  to  acts of  charity, welfare and dole outs.  Others do not know that social work is a profession with a  broad scope of social work of practice.

Social work offers a broad variety of settings including: public and private agencies, hospitals, schools, private businesses, industry and labor, child-caring institution, nursing homes, corrections, court systems, law enforcement agencies, rehabilitation centers, adoption agencies, hospices, centers, homes, shelters for various special groups, and many others. Some  are managers, supervisors, and administrators. Others  are also elected political leaders and legislators.

As a social worker, you will work with a variety of people such as infants, children, youth,  women, persons with disabilities, older persons, drug dependents, released prisoners, other needy adults, emergency/disaster victims, indigenous communities, farmers, fisherfolks, migrant workers, urban poor, rural communities, and a lot more.

By all indications, Social Work is  a noble  profession. But more than that, Social Work is a vocation. The last parable in the Gospel of Matthew (25:31-46) appears to confirm  the lasting impact of  social work.  In the final end,   the chaff is separated from the grain  and the division of all the world's people into the blessed and the cursed takes place. This division is entirely based on the acts of kindness and mercy done by people to their disadvantaged fellow human beings like “feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, visiting the prisoners, putting on cloth  to  the naked, inviting  strangers to their homes. “

Jesus identifies such acts  with kindness towards himself when he said: “… inasmuch as you have done it unto one of  the least of these  my brethren, you have done it unto  me.” ( Matthew 25:40)

Incoming college students  who have not decided yet on what course to take are encouraged to try social work. In the same way that  bachelor’s degree holders of any four year course  are welcomed to the profession. There are two options. You may  proceed to  Master of Science in Social Work  or take Bachelor of Science in Social Work  as second course. You can visit the nearest social work school in your area for details of their respective programs. Should you decide to enroll at Central Philippine University, you can also communicate with us through this blog.

Social Work Week celebrations: Finding the ruby, gold is not far behind

The annual celebration of the social work week in the Philippines stemmed from the Ruby Anniversary of the Social Work Law in June 19, 2005. With the paradigm shift on policy advocacy, as a challenge during the National Convention of two major social work organizations, a series of joint meetings and regional consultations of social workers in Western Visayas were held in Iloilo City. Participants exhaustively looked for ways and means in pooling resources to deliberately and systematically promote the Social Work profession and its significant role in effecting social transformation.

In the process, we found out that 2005 is the 40th year of the Social Work Law. Otherwise known as Republic Act 4373, the law was passed on June 19, 1965. However, it was noticed that the significance of the date of the passage of the Social Work Law had not been officially observed unlike other social welfare legislations which were passed even later. So, we thought of making the occasion a good opportunity to unite in promoting our profession.

With such discovery, we were very excited to think of activities to maximize the celebration. We thought of coming up with a resolution requesting then Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to declare June 13-19 as Social Work Week in Western Visayas, as it would be within our area of work. It gained strong support from other social work-led organizations and alliances in the region, as well as government officials and NGO leaders in the Regional Development Council. However, the Regional Development Council, which endorsed our resolution, opted for the national declaration as the Social Work Law is national in scope. Hence, the declaration should benefit other provinces in various regions.

Getting the clue from people in the authority, we informed both the national board of Philippine Association of Social Workers, Inc. (PASWI) and National Association of Social Work Education, Inc. (NASWEI) of this discovery and subsequent move to solicit support either thru endorsement of the resolution or making a national resolution related to the regional resolution. While it failed to get the declaration from the Philippine President for some technicalities, the PASWI National called for the celebration nationwide. In Western Visayas, we succeeded in our advocacy as all provinces and major cities have institutionalized the celebration by respective resolutions/ordinances. Since then, while the degree and focus vary the event has been celebrated every year.

Later, in our research, we realized that our initiative is just a continuation of the tradition of the contribution of Ilonggo social workers in the history of the profession.

The first and foremost among Filipino social work pioneer is an Ilongga- Josefa Jara Martinez. Martinez was the first executive secretary of the Associated Charities, considered to be the forerunner of social work in the Philippines. She was also the founder and first director of the first school of social work in the Philippines, now known as Philippine School of Social Work which was affiliated with the Philippine Women's University. In 1978, she was awarded as Social Worker of the Year Award by the Professional Regulations Commissions.

Martinez was among the 7 pioneers that formed the first association of social workers in the Philippines. Joining her were two Ilongga social workers, namely: Carmen Montinola-Luz and Felicidad A. De Silva from Capiz. It was reported that the social worker-senator who authored the RA 4373 Dr. Maria Kalaw- Katigbak reportedly traces her roots from Molo, Iloilo City.

(to be continued)

Social Work as a Profession

It’s Social Work Week in the Philippines. The celebration commemorates the anniversary of the Republic Act 4373, otherwise known as the Social Work Law. The passage of the Social Work Law on June 19, 1965 has regulated the practice of social work and the operation of social welfare agencies in the Philippines. Subsequently, it has created a new interest in social work and in the field of social welfare. Incidentally, the date falls on the birthday of the Philippine national hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal.

While the celebration is national in scope as endorsed by the association of professional social workers, the dynamism is more felt in Iloilo and the whole Western Visayas where the annual celebration has been institutionalized by virtue of provincial resolutions/ordinances. This year’s theme is Social Workers Responding to the Challenges of the Time. The choice has been inspired by the theme for World Social Work Day on March 15, 2011 - “Social Work voices responding to global crisises: Together we develop the Agenda!“

The celebration is a good opportunity to blog about social work. Contrary to perennial misconception, social work is a profession. While it started from charitable act, the welfare activities have emerged and joined the noble professions in the world. As a start of this series of blogs on the subject, I am presenting in toto the international definition of social work as adopted by the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) in Montréal, Canada, July 2000

DEFINITION*

The social work profession promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being. Utilising theories of human behaviour and social systems, social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environments. Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work.

COMMENTARY

Social work in its various forms addresses the multiple, complex transactions between people and their environments. Its mission is to enable all people to develop their full potential, enrich their lives, and prevent dysfunction. Professional social work is focused on problem solving and change. As such, social workers are change agents in society and in the lives of the individuals, families and communities they serve. Social work is an interrelated system of values, theory and practice.

VALUES

Social work grew out of humanitarian and democratic ideals, and its values are based on respect for the equality, worth, and dignity of all people. Since its beginnings over a century ago, social work practice has focused on meeting human needs and developing human potential. Human rights and social justice serve as the motivation and justification for social work action. In solidarity with those who are dis-advantaged, the profession strives to alleviate poverty and to liberate vulnerable and oppressed people in order to promote social inclusion. Social work values are embodied in the profession’s national and international codes of ethics.

THEORY

Social work bases its methodology on a systematic body of evidence-based knowledge derived from research and practice evaluation, including local and indigenous knowledge specific to its context. It recognises the complexity of interactions between human beings and their environment, and the capacity of people both to be affected by and to alter the multiple influences upon them including bio-psychosocial factors. The social work profession draws on theories of human development and behaviour and social systems to analyse complex situations and to facilitate individual, organisational, social and cultural changes.

PRACTICE

Social work addresses the barriers, inequities and injustices that exist in society. It responds to crises and emergencies as well as to everyday personal and social problems. Social work utilises a variety of skills, techniques, and activities consistent with its holistic focus on persons and their environments.

Social work interventions range from primarily person-focused psychosocial processes to involvement in social policy, planning and development. These include counselling, clinical social work, group work, social pedagogical work, and family treatment and therapy as well as efforts to help people obtain services and resources in the community.

Interventions also include agency administration, community organisation and engaging in social and political action to impact social policy and economic development. The holistic focus of social work is universal, but the priorities of social work practice will vary from country to country and from time to time depending on cultural, historical, and socio-economic conditions.

* This international definition of the social work profession replaces the IFSW definition adopted in 1982. It is understood that social work in the 21st century is dynamic and evolving, and therefore no definition should be regarded as exhaustive.