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Botswana: Social work critical profession

GABORONE - The president of the University of Botswana (UB) Social Work Society, Ms Buyani Moses has urged her colleagues to start making a contribution towards entrenching social work as a critical profession in national development. Speaking at the society's dinner in Gaborone on Saturday, Ms Moses said social work is a relatively new phenomenon in Botswana and it is misunderstood by many. She said some people perceive social workers as a bunch of people whose vocation is to give out food handouts and talk to the frustrated and the distressed. "Social work has much more than that, the profession has a heritage of concern with the underprivileged but its agenda is much greater than that", she said. It is transformational in approach and places the empowerment of individuals, communities and the society high in the agenda, she said. Ms Moses said social work has the primary mandate of helping people unleash their full potential so that they can improve the quality of their lives. She added that social work believes in fairness and justice in human relations. "We believe in creation of opportunities for personal and community development", she said. She however said that the profession has not vigorously sold itself to the people and the humility and courteous disposition made social workers think that people will appreciate them for what they do. Ms Moses said their society has made their presence felt both at the UB and outside and these are the small steps that will one day complete the journey of hope for the profession and its clientele. She stated that social workers have made the commitment to continue working towards the improvement of the image of their profession after graduating. The Principal Social Worker in the Department of Social Services, Mr Lefhoko Kesamang said social work is a difficult and demanding profession but the rewards for the profession are more intrinsic. He said once an individual chooses social work as a career one is virtually assured of never attaining wealth or prestige. He said social work is about sharing, caring and social responsibility, the values not rewarded by the economic system in Botswana. He regretted that compared to other professionssocial, their work relatively occupies low status. He observed that social work is a thankless profession and regretted that there is low pay in the profession. He challenged all the social workers to conduct research and write as well as attend international conferences. The theme for the dinner was, "Social Workers Unite, Let Our Voices Be Heard". BOPA  SOURCE: Botswana Press Agency (BOPA) « back