National Association of Social Workers

From the President

Reaching Out Across the World

By Elvira Craig de Silva, DSW, ACSW

In November, I, along with 60 other NASW members, attended a historical United States-Cambodia social work conference in Phnom Penh.

Organized by the People to People Ambassador Programs and with great assistance from Ellen Minotti, a U.S. social worker who has worked in Cambodia for more than 17 years, the conference was the first of its kind. Social workers from across the U.S. went to learn, listen and exchange ideas with colleagues about the field and practice of social work.

While there, I was struck by the overall positive and hopeful attitude of the Cambodian people, their resilience, industriousness and entrepreneurship. After the ravages of war and political strife, they are intent on rebuilding their country — contributing what they can within the sphere of their abilities and circumstances.

It is both invigorating and sobering to realize that across the world and across cultures, there are more commonalities than differences in the human struggle. Peoples in every country fashion their responses to situations from the diverse fabrics within their reach.

Although social work as a career is still developing in Cambodia, it is clear that professional protocols and an emerging commitment to community organizing and social action are meshing under common goals. Needs that cannot yet be met by official Cambodian institutions, are being met by a surge of social service nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from many other countries.

It was an extraordinary opportunity to visit programs and social service agencies managed by these different NGOs. Not only have they focused on the urgent needs of people across the lifespan, but they also have been able to integrate the natural leaders of the community to move projects forward, respect cultural norms and open avenues to develop local talents.

The services they offer range from traditional social service assistance to cooperative projects that help clients develop employment skills in creative arts, cooking, personal care and literacy. In addition, micro-loans for families to start businesses are popular. People in the most impoverished areas are responding very positively to this type of assistance.

The NGOs also have developed comprehensive training for young people who work on the community projects — with field placement opportunities and ongoing supervision. Ellen Minotti's program, Social Services of Cambodia, is one of the best examples of these professional education efforts. To date, more than 1,000 individuals have completed her training programs, which are similar to our BSW training. Some of these individuals are now pursuing formal degrees in social work.

Our trip to Cambodia taught us new lessons, reminded us of unmet needs in our own country and gave us the opportunity to reach out and extend our professional friendship and support to our colleagues abroad.

In the social work profession, there is much interest in furthering our nation's involvement in issues that affect the global scene. Fortunately, social workers have the training and the worldview to be an important part of this effort.

As informed citizens of the world, social workers help bring about positive change among the people, organizations and communities we serve. It's exciting to know that there are few limits to the impact we can have in the world.

To comment to Elvira Craig de Silva: president@naswdc.org

From February 2008 NASW News. © 2008 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved. NASW News articles may be copied for personal use, but proper notice of copyright and credit to the NASW News must appear on all copies made. This permission does not apply to reproduction for advertising, promotion, resale, or other commercial purposes.