Human and agro-industrial development:
Social work role crucial
Dr Mathu H Liyanage
The development schemes implemented by the government under the
astute leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa are racing on to make
this country a glowing example of the socio-economic hub in Asia with
the support of the people, especially those in the villages, who have
voted the government into power both in Parliamentary and Local
Government elections with unprecedented results.
Community participation in agricultural activities important.
File photo |
The schemes aimed at elimination or at least reducing the gap that
existed before between the rich and the poor, and in education, health,
employment and social welfare so that the people irrespective of race,
religion and caste barriers can live together harmoniously and free of
oppression, and enjoy the fruits of freedom, progress and advancement to
lead full and contented lives not witnessed hitherto in the recent
history of the country.
Role models
It is not surprising that President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who crushed
the 30-year ruthless terrorism and has put the country on a speedy
economic recovery combined with social equalities, has gained the sixth
place among top world leaders, celebrities including Hollywood and
sporting icons and even leaving US President Barak Obama behind in the
2011 poll featured in the Time magazine’s 100 Top Ten.
Nevertheless, there is no magic solution, and it is only hard and
solid work by those engaged in farming and agro-industries, industrial
workers and employees in government and private sectors that could
ensure these aspirations are realized by working together as one solid
block, as emphasised by the President in his recent addresses to public
servants.
Social workers, who are especially trained in working with
individuals, groups of persons and communities, can act as role models,
wherever they are employed, as they have the special training and
experience to assist those who have difficulties in adjusting to their
social environments because of poverty, illness, personal and family
conflicts, and be instrumental in the formulation of welfare policies
and preventive assistance programmes of the government.
There is confusion in the community now over social services and
social work as it is hard for the community to draw a line between the
two.
Voluntary welfare agencies
Social services is the provision of services to the needy or the
deprived persons to meet the basic needs such as food, clothing and
shelter and other services geared towards this end by providing
financial and/or material aid, whereas social work focuses on the
strengths and weaknesses of an individual in distress and crying for
assistance, and provide him/her support to sort out the problems and get
back to normalcy in order to realize and work on his/her potentials and
become a self-reliant, self-confident and productive person in the
community.
From times immemorial, social services were first provided by
humanitarians, religious groups and voluntary welfare agencies to help
the needy, the aged, the sick, but with the advent of the Industrial
Revolution in the 19th century, there arose social dislocation from a
more stabilized family and community system based on laissez-faire
principles, causing more complex social problems which were accentuated
by rapid social and technological changes over the last few decades.
State intervention in social welfare has now become a world phenomenon.
Virtually, today every country has a department of social welfare or a
ministry to frame policies and social welfare programmes.
Modern world
It was really in the 20th century when social work emerged as a
profession with full-time paid-workers; establishment of Schools of
Social Work, later under the wings of universities, to train them; and
formation of professional associations of social workers, both
nationally and internationally, with periodic communication and
collaboration between them to put social work on a sounder and standard
footing, and make social work more recognized throughout the world.
Programmes of social services have expanded and so are the workers
who provide the services - both professional and non-professional -
though the former is still in a minority in most departments and
institutions providing human services such as public assistance, child
and family welfare services, public health and medical services,
prisons, probation services, education and rural development, to cite a
few. Trained social workers can, in fact, work in supervisory and
managerial or administrative positions in these institutions to uplift
the standard of work provided by non-social workers and provide general
guidance to the administrators.
The profession of social work has moved and caught up with the
socio-economic trends of the modern world. Social work training now
adopts an integrated approach, combining the main three methods of
casework, group work and community organisation and development, in the
training programmes of students to finally produce generalist social
workers who are capable of working in any setting, such as public
assistance, child and family welfare services, public health and medical
services, schools, prisons, probation services and rural development, to
name a few.
Developing countries
With the additional knowledge of sociology, psychology and psychiatry
now imparted, the new social workers become well-rounded workers to fit
into any setting of social welfare with a high degree of confidence, and
be able to make appropriate referrals to resources in the community and
explain how to access them.
They could also be gainfully employed to counsel victims of disasters
caused by floods and landslides, tsunamis and fires etc.
Though the growth of Schools of Social Work and passing out of
trained social workers are noteworthy, the term ‘social worker’ does not
uniformly connote professional status in various countries. This is the
situation Sri Lanka is facing today.
The oft-repeated statement that social work is still not accepted as
a profession in some developing countries is not far from the truth.
Social work is still in its infancy in most of these countries, and
Sri Lanka is no exception. Social work as a field of study and practice
is not well understood by the community, the administrators of
Departments of Social Welfare or the politicians who invariably head the
Ministries.
To break this impasse, it is up to the social workers to take up the
issue, through a formally established Association of professional social
workers, to educate the masses by holding meetings and discussion groups
throughout the country, making announcements through the media (print,
radio and TV) and explaining the role of social workers in alleviating
numerous socially handicapped persons such as those subject to domestic
violence, crime and delinquency, child abuse, neglected or children with
problems, unplanned parenthood, drugs and alcohol abuse and family
break-ups, and arrange formal discussions with the Heads of the Social
Welfare Ministries and Departments to press their claims for recognition
and to create and provide employment to trained social workers with
appropriate salary structures. It should indeed be a consensus agenda to
make it a success.
Trained social workers
Recognition of social work as a profession will not come as a matter
of course, and there is a pressing need to follow a rigorous and
consistent follow-up action to impress the community, heads of
Ministries of Social Welfare and Departments that trained social workers
go through a three-year basic degree course in theory and practice of
social work to acquire a specialized knowledge in handling delicate
human problems and finding a solution to them in consultation with the
clients, and bring a high degree of skill to his work in order to modify
the social conditions of his clients and the community, and participate
in the formulation and implementation of social welfare policies and
programmes of assistance proposed by the government.
(The writer was a lecturer at the Sri Lanka School of Social Work
and was employed as the Inter-country Child Care Consultant of the South
Australian Department of Community Welfare and Senior Social Worker of
the Commonwealth Department of Social Security, Tamworth (NSW),
Australia) |