Travelogue - Luke Zitterkopf
This collaborative mapping assignment has to be one my
favorite assignments this semester. The
journey that I have experienced learning about how different communities all
around the globe have impacted social justice and human rights has definitely
been an eye opener as Aya and Stephanie had pointed out. This has been a rewarding learning experience
in that it has exposed me to the impact social workers are making a global
change to planet earth!
I was excited to read about the Kidsave program in
Russia. Having children myself, it pains
me to read and to see children put into institutions. I was pleased to read the direction this
organization has taken with the children in Russia. I was glad to see that they are effectively placing
children from institution into permanent families. Their approach seems similar to the adoption
agencies in the states. The biggest
difference that I saw was that they had orphaned children spend time with families
during the summer, holidays, and weekends.
These visits created fertile ground for the children to experience life
in a family and provided the host families with the opportunity to further to
get to know the children.
I appreciated reading about the Abuelas program in Argentina
that provides the opportunity for displaced families to search privately and confidentially
for their lost loved ones. Unfortunately
there are many displaced families around the world. I love how this organization is helping
reunite lost family members. By
reuniting these families, Argentina is building stronger communities of
families thus providing a better environment for their future populations to
grow.
Hi Luke,
ReplyDeleteI am glad you enjoyed reading about Kidsave in Russia. It is a great organization that I have actually been engaged with on a personal level when my family hosted an 8 year old girl from Colombia in order to help her find a family here in the United States. Most importantly, what I have appreciated about this organization is the efforts they make to move children out of institutional care and into families within their home country instead of moving the children across boarders. If you want to find out more about the organization and ways to get involved as social workers, the website is: www.kidsave.org
Hey Luke, I connected with your comments about the organization in Russia. As a mother, I am always moved by stories about orphans, fostered and homeless children. As a social worker, it pleases me to see organizations like Kidsave getting children out of the institutions which can have longterm implications for their relationships and health. Recently I watch a documentary on Netflix called "The Dark Matter of Love". I found it quite by accident. It is the story of a Wisconsin family that adopts twin boys and a girl from a Russian orphanage, all at the same time, and brings them back to the USA. It follows their experience over several years. It is a wonderful story and seemed very genuine. I would recommend it based on your reaction to the Kidsave organization.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your summer with your lovely family!