World Social Work Day - Ubuntu: "I Am Because We Are"

CRC case managers, left to right: Education Manager Mabel Mustapha, Edward Lavalie, CRC Director Olivia Fonnie, Rosa Saffa, Abibatu Abu-Mattia, Victor Kanu, Amie Nallo, Emmanuel Lamin, George Kulanda, Imourana Bockarie, Henry Kebbie, Deborah Kanneh, Assiatu Tarawally, and TCM senior consultant David Musa.

​WORLD SOCIAL WORK DAY

March 16, 2021 is World Social Work Day, the annual celebration of the accomplishments and contributions of global social workers in meeting the unique needs of children, families and communities around the world every day of the year.

This year's theme is "Ubuntu: I Am Because We Are – Strengthening Social Solidarity and Global Connectedness."  Ubuntu originates from the indigenous peoples of South Africa and was popularized across the world by Nelson Mandela. 

Ubuntu: ‘I am because we are’ is a philosophy that resonates with the social work perspective of the interconnectedness of all peoples and their environments. It speaks to the need for global solidarity, and also highlights indigenous knowledge and wisdom.

Please join us in honoring the dedicated and resourceful social workers of the Child Reintegration Centre, who provide care for more than 500 children and youth from extremely vulnerable families. The CRC social work team provides case management, mentoring, and counseling to help families challenged by extreme poverty to become stable and self-sufficient. 

Every day, the CRC team is searching for lost and abandoned children on the streets of Bo so they can be rescued and reintegrated with caring families.  

The CRC's Transition Coaching and Mentoring department is helping orphanages throughout Sierra Leone make the transition from residential to family-based care, so that children can grow up in a a home with parents.  

Throughout the COVID crisis in Sierra Leone, which caused a severe economic slump that especially impacted the most vulnerable families, the CRC case management team continued providing care to children and families in Bo and the surrounding villages.  The case managers visited the families to check on their welfare, provided emergency food supplies for the neediest, and supplied CRC students with solar powered radios. 

The Child Reintegration Centre case managers hold family strengthening workshops and microfinance training to help the families provide a stable environment for raising their children.