Welcome to the SWSS 213
Collaborative Mapping Project Travelogue!
As part of their journey through the UVM MSW program, the SWSS 213: Social Work Practice II community has created a collaborative map of community social work practices and programs across the world. You can visit the map
here. This group blog, or travelogue, is a place for SWSS 213 community members to share thoughts and reflections after taking individual journeys of exploration through the different global social work practice and programs shared on the map.
I found this to be an interesting experience. Identifying three different community social work programs across the world initially seemed like a daunting task to me. Needless to say there are tens of thousands of locations to begin with and still so many extremely diverse programs within those geographic areas. I ended up first choosing to focus on a specific type of program and then searching for an international example of that.
ReplyDeleteAs I read through the map I found myself guessing who had mapped each program that was identified and reflecting back on my peers interests and past areas of focus. I found it interesting to see which geographic areas were mapped and which locations remained untouched. I personally attempted to find specific programs in countries that had not yet been mapped. However, due to my lack of success and time constraints I shifted my focus to other areas. I wonder if the struggle I had to locate particular programs (in this case foster care programs and adoption agencies in Japan) is due to a cultural difference in social work programming.
While there were several types of social work practices and programs that I am familiar with, (drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers and hospice organizations to name a few), there were many community practices and programs that I have never studied or worked in. One example of this was the Tantakuna Women's Artist Cooperative. I really appreciated this program on the map for being a great example of a grass roots organization that is demonstrating what it takes to make a sustainable community-based model.
I look forward to hearing how others chose the programs and locations that they mapped!
I am not surprised that we have many organizations located in Europe, as well as other countries many of us are familiar with on the map; 2 out 3 of my organizations are located in Europe. I chose those two countries (Denmark and Czech Republic) because I have a personal connection to both of them and like to explore them when I can.
ReplyDeleteHowever, when I started to look back at the map once it had more locations, I steered away from looking at European organizations. I was drawn to the one organization in Chad that was labeled: Safer Birth in Chad. This organization is a wonderful example of the power of communication. It started when individuals in the UK and Europe saw a documentary about the high mortality rates and poor conditions of maternity wards in Chad, and then they decided to get involved and help women thousands of miles away, whom they have never met.
In looking at many of the different organizations, it is striking to see the similarities of programs and populations across the globe. Even some common words were popping up in descriptions of the organizations, such as empowerment, holistic, support, community, family, education, women and children, just to name a few.
Wow! The power of that map is that it's an actual visual representation of the fact that social workers are literally working to save the world, in so many innovative and creative ways. I genuinely can't think of any other profession that helps so many different populations throughout the world, and works for so many diverse causes to promote human rights and social justice.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed taking this virtual tour from our neighbors in Massachusetts all the way to Iceland and Australia. All of these organizations were impressive; there were a few that stood out to me as being especially creative.
Deportes Para La Vida--using sports to teach and increase awareness about HIV/AIDS. I would imagine that in many places there was (and possibly still is) a resistance to talk openly about this topic. Using something so universally loved like sports to increase awareness about a stigmatized topic is genius! I'm trying to think about ways that the same strategy might be employed in our own community, especially with hard to reach youth.
Search for Common Grounds in Sri Lanka--I love the model of conflict resolution that this organization embraces. It's not just about solving problems, but actually working toward people understanding one another, and searching for commonalities instead of emphasizing differences. Finding common ground is one of the cornerstones of social work. That is what humanity is to me. I love that this organization doesn't just try to settle differences by solving disputes, but actually works toward having conflicting parties recognize one another as human beings.
Role Foundation, Indonesia--Engaging marginalized populations to support environmental sustainability. In doing research for another class, I'm learning that marginalized populations are often also marginalized from the environmental justice movement. Especially because they are so often the victims of environmental racism and classism, empowering marginalized populations to promote environmental sustainability is so important!
Each one of the organizations that were highlighted on the map is doing incredibly important work. A dream would be to take a real world tour of some of these places and experience them firsthand. I did actually get to visit Yad LaKashish in Israel several years ago, and loved interacting with the artists there. I got to see how the organization brought them together and gave them sense of purpose and community, and combated the isolation and loneliness that so many elderly people experience. I'm definitely hoping to get to experience more global social work in action in Cuba this December!
I loved this exercise. I was particularly interested in highlighting small, grass-roots organization's in other countries that are doing amazing social work. Many of by examples were inspired by the book/film "Half the Sky" (amazing and you all should read/watch it!)
ReplyDeleteI think as social workers, this map is a visual representation of what connects us. Our work, our passions, and our visions for people come through in all examples I read though. It is also interesting to see where people's interest lay within social work, through their examples.
As Anne said, I also, am not surprised that many of these are located in Europe either...the more and more I hear about these countries the more and more I want to ove away!
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ReplyDelete(First comment deleted due to a few typos and some unintentional misinformation. Sorry all!)
DeleteI, too, was struck by the geographic distribution of what was mapped -- we really are pretty heavy on the European and North American organizations! It's impossible to see how things are laid out and not wonder why it is that we fell so much into not only focusing on Western countries, but also on organizations sponsored by Western countries (even if they happen to be located in other parts of the world).
I'm not wholly convinced that this is solely due to our comfort and familiarity with these organizations, though. In researching for the mapping portion of this project, I decided to focus on one of those neglected areas of the world and stumbled across the Azerbaijan Public Social Work Union. In reading about them, I learned that they've only been in existence since about 2006, when a number of graduates from United States-based MSW programs returned to the country to bring social work there, so to speak. Prior to this, social work wasn't even something that existed as such, so the AZSWU is very much social construction at work!
Thinking about things in this way, it surprises me less that there's such a Western influence on our map. Social work seems to be an inherently Western concept, and while speculating as to why that is is significantly beyond my academic abilities and credentials, the question does beg to be answered: why doesn't social work as we think of it seem to exist among those who need it most? And what is there in place of this formal profession?
Like some of you mentioned, thinking about social work related organizations and practice globally was a little overwhelming for me at first. I mapped the three organizations that meant the most to me and that have in someway touched me and as I looked at what you have posted I was in awe of the great number and geographic variation that there is in this work.
ReplyDeleteWhat I was no so aware of in my youth but was re-aquainted with in this project was the Salzburgh Seminar. I had the honor and privilege to go as a teen to the main organization in Salzburgh and was struck by how many people from across the world were present to discuss issues of global importance. As I reviewed their mission and website for this project I was stunned to how relevant it is today and to the work we do as social workers. So much of social justice is about opening dialogue and connecting people from all areas to share concerns and ideas and then to return home to continue the work on a grassroots level.
This project grows the hope I have that change can happen as it can be discouraging to talk about the problems that exist and then to think how do we tackle them can in many ways be paralyzing. I am excited to know that there is so much happening out there and what we learned from this or what I learned from this is that we discovered an introduced a number of programs and projects that were new to me, if only we could share this with the world to let them know we are aware of them and that they matter. :)
I started this exercise metaphorically looking behind me, remembering an organization in my hometown that started turning my interest from purely clinical mental health work to social work. The organization was PAVE, a group that helped victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. My experience with them really stoked my interest in promoting social justice against the patriarchal systems I see more clearly.
ReplyDeleteAfter listing that one, I started looking towards the future, and my interests in mental health. From there, my mind turned to a place I had visited two long years ago that I've yearned to return to ever since - Ireland. Sure enough, searching the rolling hills of the Emerald Isle turned up an organization that helps advocate for mental health clients and serves to provide advocacy for those clients and ensure the quality of the services they are providing. The more I read about Mental Health Ireland, the more I considered going back to work at the organization.
While I had found another organization, the process of finding that one was less interesting. From there, I went from my own search to the search of my cohort, which was an interesting process for me to explore. It seems a majority of agencies found in the United States were clustered in the Northeast, which makes some sense, given the dominant discourse of "Liberal bias" in that area. While I was initially surprised by the number of organizations in Africa, the surprise faded as I realized that more agencies might be found either in places where "liberal bias" exists, or places seen as "vulnerable" and "in need of services." I was very surprised that no one had looked for organizations in the Nordic countries, such as Norway, Sweden or Finland, the last of which will open its doors to some of our classmates this summer.
However, it was very satisfying to see so many agencies and organizations across the globe doing good work to promote social justice for the disenfranchised and stigmatized. A lot of times, while working in the Social Work field, we can feel dragged down by the systems in place, by the struggles our clients go through (that we go through vicariously through them) and by the sense of isolation and helplessness in an immense world. Knowing we are not the only ones doing this work - knowing we are not alone in our struggle - helps me reframe my perspective, and helps me feel supported by the others doing similar work as I am doing.
Also, is there no support in Antarctica? Penguins need help, too, I'm sure!
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ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this exercise. I was a little overwhelmed at first trying to figure out where to begin, and decided to focus on international areas that we have not focused on in our coursework this year that may be considered underdeveloped. Like Christa mentioned, it was interesting to look at the overall visual representation of the map to see what areas were more heavily mapped than others. Reading about the different creative community organizations across the globe was a great reminder of what connects us and that social work is happening all over the world in very innovative ways.
ReplyDeleteOne organization I chose to read about was the Cornerstone Foundation in Belize-a grassroots organization aiming to provided education and support by ‘empowering individuals and mobilizing communities’. One thing I found really interesting about this organization was the community linking projects the webpage talks about. Website description: “Community linking projects provides a way for small groups of people or professional to work together on a project that will benefit the whole community. The possibilities are endless! There is a wide range of types of projects possible, from beautifying a park, painting a school, to facilitating a clinic.”
One organization I found really interesting on the map was the SOS Children’s Village Bogota-providing daycare and education to children so that parents are able to take classes and increase their earning capacity in a city that possesses a huge gap in the distribution of wealth. Overall, I was struck by the intersectionality in the missions of many of the organizations on the map, and that they are all doing so many unique things to promote social justice and well-being at all levels.
Like many have already said, at first I found trying to find different agencies across the world this to be a daunting task but then found it very interesting. Seeing many other social work organizations around the world was powerful. I was particularly struck by agencies or movements that do work that I have little experience in but sound very interesting, such as SqEK, the Squatting Europe collective. The range of issues that this collective felt they were involved in from homelessness, urban and housing politics, non-hierarchical and participatory organization models, and then engaging in border protest campaigns and social movements was impressive. This also got me thinking about movements in the US.
ReplyDeleteWhen choosing my sites, I ended up trying to find agencies doing similar work to what I am familiar with in other countries. For instance, my job and my internship this year are at parent-child centers. I looked at the Center for Parent Child Support in London. I felt that although wording and the naming of programs may be different, they had similar goals and strategies to working with families.
I also looked at the Northern Initiative for Social Action in Ontario, which is an organization run by and for consumers of mental health. I believe the we have talked about organizations run by the people before, but looking into this one was awesome. They were committed to “offering meaningful and useful programs, providing a setting for active social recovery rather than passive dependence on community services.” I found this view to be powerful. It got me thinking about all of the different models in which agencies are run and how this differed for the places we chose across the map.
Taking a page from Matt, I looked at my past, and at my future, in the realm of social work. I have had the opportunity over the years to be involved in wonderful efforts in many places.
ReplyDeleteLooking back my early awareness of the power of social work came from my time as a teacher in Mexico. Every year we would have a fundraiser for children at a local orphanage named Casa Hogar. Many of my students were internationally privileged kids. Each year we would take our gift to the organization and spend the day with the orphans and the staff. It was a small organization, part of a larger loose affiliation of organizations which dealt primarily with children who were surrendered because the families were too poor to care for them. For my students, it was an eye-opening experience. In fact, to this day, several of my students from that time work today with many similar organizations throughout Mexico and around the world. I'd like to think that our experiences with the Casa Hogar organization had something to do with that.
I also considered what I think to be a great model for community mental health. In Kerrville Texas I worked for Hill Country MHMDD. This organization runs everything from a mental health clinics, substance abuse, crisis stabilization, and even adult day care and vocational training for developmental disability. The organization spans the entirety of community work. It is a genuine non-profit, running on ideas and innovations of people that care rather than a bottom line.
I also took this opportunity to make a plug for my latest venture into social services. Just this last week I took over a non-profit organization which I am rebuilding over the next year. Our main goal is to reduce the barriers to addiction treatment which occur in social, economic, and politic ways. I have partnered with several professionals in the field across several states in order to build a national presence. I believe, no one should be refused treatment for addiction regardless of cost. At the same time I believe in expanding not shrinking what qualifies as best-practice care for addiction. This organization will be the forefront of those efforts.
I reviewing many of the organizations, I am struck by the ways in which people care. There are so many efforts underway to treat everything from HIV afflicted children in Thailand to efforts right here in the US. I find it both comforting and discouraging. How is it that so many people care so much, yet so much suffering still exists? We have much work to do worldwide. I am proud to join the ranks of such endeavors as a social worker.
It was interesting to tour the map and people's choices. There is some really great things happening all over the world (and here in our own backyard -CHAMP and otheres) and it was so wonderful to have a chance to peruse some of the websites to see how people are working on different topics. I think there is much to gain in understanding and appreciating different approaches and programs - using other people's creativity and adaptations to make my visions of what is possible more varied. I liked BaanGerda as a unique approach to family care instead of institutional care for HIV youth. And Sambahav was a great community and systems level action program. Cornerstone also looks like a great program working at a lot of different levels in their communities.
ReplyDeleteI also (as others have noted) noticed when organizations were western or western-backed/funded programs. It is unfortunate that the money is what allows many programs to exist and that the money is often sourced from international western countries in poorer countries. I also thought it was interesting to see the number of large multi-national and policy level programs people chose (equality now, salzburg, search for common good, global communities - among others). Because many community level programs do not have big websites it limits our ability to find them when just searching online.
Thanks for all the fun sites!
lizzy
The mapping experience was very new to me, but I do believe that this is an excellent tool for social workers, especially in thinking about a society who is moving towards connecting via social media and other online resources. In thinking about organizations to map, I chose ones that are working both within their geographical proximity and on a global level. For example on of the organizations mission statements was to mediate conflict with in communities that have just ended war. So, there were main head quarters, then workers within certain communities to mediate and restore after a time of conflict. I enjoyed looking at how some of the other organizations are working on an international. Overall, I thought this exercise was very enlightening and the mapping tool really highlights and demonstrates all the work that is being done around the world to promote healthy communities. It was very encouraging to read about all the community supports that are available, and it makes me think about how many more there are. I wonder how wonderful or perhaps useful it would be if these organizations could be in correspondence with one another, especially if their mission statements are similar. With this awareness, I wonder if each organization bounce ideas off of each others and provide accountability. It even might be beneficial to just have this awareness of what organizations are if someone is will to do the research.
ReplyDeleteI really loved this exercise, and just wanted to keep seeing what was out there! Creative googling led to so many organizations in places that I never would have expected. I focused a great deal on women's organizations and rape crisis centers. They are literally all over the world! How great!
ReplyDeleteSeeing the variety of postings, and looking at the many representations of social work really highlighted the limitless potential for us all to contribute and make a difference. There are so many profound efforts being put in towards social justice- it is astounding.
I was also interested in researching more about the social issues and news going on in the countries I looked at to map. I found that there are so many issues going on, and became even more impressed with the resources that exist despite so much daily horrific tragedies.
I think technology and access to it can make or break one's ability to utilize services, particularly those in place for rape and/or domestic violence. Thinking about how easy it is for us in the United States to look up hotline numbers, or find nearby centers is quite taken for granted. I came across so many programs that did not have websites, listed locations, or easy to find contact information. I also thought about the privilege I have to look and complete this project using a computer and the internet from my own home. I could even have searched on my cellphone. Yet so many others are extremely more secluded and excluded from resources. This issue is one to also consider and combat when implementing services in other countries.