IFSW Newsletter
ASIA & PACIFIC REGION

This issue includes:
Editorial
News from round-about
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IFSW Asia Pacific Joint Report from IFAP Regional
President & IFAP Member-at-Large: July 2014 –March 2016
IFSW-AP President’s Visit to China
Report on World Social Work Day 2016 – Hong
Kong
Report on World Social Work Day 2016 – Malaysia
Social Work in Bangladesh: The Way of Practice ad
Progress
Community Development Project of Centre forSocial Action (CSA), India
National Seminar Workshop on Building
Resiliency in the Face of Disasters, Philippines
1st Learning Forum on Psychosocial Support inDisaster Situations: the Roles and Skills of Social
Workers in Asia PacificUpcoming Events in 2016

Editorial
It seems like we have just welcomed in 2016 but
almost half of the year is over and the next issue of
our Newsletter is due. This round we have theregular reports from the desk of the IFSW-AP
President and Member-at-Large, and a sharing ofWorld Social Work Day celebrations from Hong
Kong, Malaysia and Bangladesh. The contributor
from Bangladesh, Mr. Habibur Rahman, has also
given an enlightening description of social work
development in Bangladesh which is still struggling
to achieve professional recognition. The Philippines
and Indonesian Associations of Social Workers
report on their successful workshops held recently
on building the capacity of social workers to manage
disasters. This issue also carries an interesting andinspiring case study of how a social action
organisation in India is empowering women throughcommunity development projects. We thank all those
who have sent in articles, reports and photographs
which have resulted in an extra 3 pages compared tothe previous issue. Hopefully more articles will beforthcoming for the next issue from other regional

Issue 1, June 2016

countries, especially after the Joint World Conferencein Seoul which is to be held from 27 th – 30th June
2016. That event promises to be a time of exciting
interaction and networking and learning experienceswith plenary sessions, symposiums, workshops andall the executive committee meetings.
Disaster response and preparedness remains urgent
on the agenda of IFSW-AP, and rightly so with thefrequent incidences of calamities in the region. The
next capacity building workshop is planned to behosted by the Malaysian Association of Social
Workers in January 2017. Further details are
expected to be announced later. In addition,
regionally, social workers are also feeling stretched
to cope with a myriad of other social issues such as
the maltreatment, neglect, trafficking and online
sexual grooming of children and the dark websites
promoting child pornography. Family violence,
health and mental health issues, drug abuse andHIV/AIDS continue to keep social workers on theirtoes. Concern about the abuse and neglect of elders is
also increasing to the point that some countries haveor are in the process of formulating policies,
programmes and legislation to protect the vulnerable
aged. Some countries are also struggling to cope withthe complex problems of refugees, illegal and legal
migrants, stateless people and modern day slaves.
There is truly such a lot of work to do but there are
not a great number of social workers who arecompetently trained and experienced to take up theroles and tasks required. Most of the developing
countries like Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia are justbeginning to build a base in social work educationand training for social workers. Even with more than
60 years of social work practice in Malaysia, there isa lack of trained social workers in appropriate fields
of practice and also in continuing professional
education programme for social work graduates.
Perhaps a pooling of regional resources in providing
specialised training programmes could be a way tobridge the gaps and hasten the process of enhancing
the knowledge and skills of those currently engaged
in working with the vulnerable groups.
Let’s help each other achieve the goals of the Global
Agenda for Social Work and Social Development!

IFSW-AP Joint Report from IFAP
Regional
President&
IFAP
Member-at-Large: July 2014 - March
2016

Mariko Kimura
IFAP President

Rose Henderson
Member-at-Large

Greetings from the President and Member-atLarge
Disasters as a Characteristic of the Asia PacificRegionThroughout the year, our region was hit by naturaland human made disasters. One example is theearthquake in Nepal; another is the earthquake in
Malaysia which was also preceded by a flood a few
months earlier. As we write this our colleagues inJapan are once again responding to a major
earthquake. China is still handling damages fromearthquakes, flooding, and a cruise ship accident. Hail
hit parts of Australia, train accidents occurred in India
and Pakistan, the latter also suffering a mosquebombing. A plane crashed in Indonesia, while Vanuatu
was severely ravaged by a hurricane, miraculously
claiming only 11 lives, thanks to proper risk
management measures. Hence the small island nation
showed us the true importance of disaster
preparedness. Mariko in her role as President has
urged donations to one of our newest members, theSocial Workers Association of Nepal (SWAN), so that
we can help them deal with the aftermath of thedevastating earthquake.
We are also aware of the huge and long term
humanitarian needs that follow disasters of all types
and note especially the current need for assistance in
Yemen where about 80 per cent of the population are
in need of assistance including food, fuel and healthservices. Our member in Yemen is playing a key rolein the UNICEF funded project to establish andmaintain safe places for children to enjoy organised
activities, learn, express themselves and return safely
back into their communities.
Unfortunately this is not an extraordinary year for the
Asia-Pacific since, according to UN estimates, morethan half of the world’s 226 natural disasters in 2014
occurred in our region. That is why this issue is apriority for IFSW-AP and that is why we have beenworking to raise funds for further disaster related
projects, such as workshops in our member countries.

The Asia Pacific Region Launched its Facebook
Page
In February, we launched our Facebook page to beable to engage more efficiently in global
communication. Please send any information andpictures you would like to post on our Facebook pageto the Japanese Coordinating Body for IFSWMembership and they will arrange the actual upload.
We need to do this for information management
purposes.
IFSW Executive Committee Meeting in March 2015
and New Undertakings on International Trade
Agreement System
In March, the new Executive Committee gathered forthe first time in Geneva, Switzerland. During thismeeting, we strongly felt that we are still learning tocope with our roles and the workload. While this is theyear for regional conferences, we can also findcommon global issues such as our work on the Global
Agenda. One new policy development confirmed at
the meeting has to do with social workers who workin countries other than where they were trained andare based. Other developments include policies
regarding the Social Work Role in Social Protection
Systems and position statements on International
Trade Agreements/Systems, with Rose Henderson
involved in drafting the latter. We recognise that
reviewing and updating such policies regularly arenecessary to keep up with the rapid pace of
globalisation. We are also grateful for our members
who represent IFSW at the United Nations and our
Human Rights and Ethics Commissions. The
development of a draft Terms of Reference for an
Indigenous Committee is also expected to be
discussed at the General Meeting in Seoul.
IFSW-AP President Visits Hong Kong, Macau andChina in April 2015
In April, Mariko paid presidential visits to Hong Kong,
Macau, and Mainland China where she had the honourof having meetings with local presidents of social
work associations and heads of social service
departments. This was the first time for Mariko tovisit Greater China in her role as President after
assuming the office last year.

Meeting Mr Gong Puguang, Vice Minister, Ministryof Civil Affairs & President of CASWNew Social Work Definition and Development of
the Regional Amplification
With regard to the Global Definition, we have beenworking towards a regional amplification throughout
the year so that we could come to a conclusion withAPASWE at our conference in Thailand. The revised
draft will now be endorsed at the conference in Seoul
in June 2016. Also, the Hong Kong Association ofSocial Workers completed the Chinese version of the
new Global Definition and it has already been
uploaded to the IFSW website. We believe that it will
hopefully be of reference to many colleagues who
have Chinese cultural origins all over the world. We
thank the Hong Kong Association for their mostmeaningful effort.
Status of the Global Agenda in the Asia PacificRegion as of March 2016
In the second phase of the Global Agenda, regional
progress reports on ‘Promoting the dignity and worthof persons’, the agenda theme in 2015, werescheduled to be presented at an Agenda Forum inThailand. These included case reports on what
influence social workers have on people’s lives andsocial change. We will collect these cases in our Global
Agenda Report and make an appeal to IFSW, IASSW,ICSW as well as the UN and NGOs about the social
impact of social work practice! The final draft of the
Global Agenda Phase II Report is currently being
prepared and will be disclosed in Korea in June 2016
when the Global Agenda initiative will enter Phase III.
I would like to personally express my deepest
gratitude to Dr. Bala Raju Nikku from Nepal
representing IASSW and Rose, our IFSW-AP Memberat-Large, for leading this effort and facilitating theForum.

Dr Bala Raju Nikku making his presentation

Report on Pre-Conference Workshops in Bangkok
As mentioned earlier, the Asia Pacific Region
organised a Pre-Conference Workshop on ‘Children’s
Rights and Child Labour’ preceding the Joint Regional
Conference in Thailand. We did so keeping in mind thetheme of Phase II, namely ‘Promoting the dignity andworth of persons’. As a result of the work that wasundertaken in Thailand at the pre-conference
workshop on child labour including those of migrantlabourers, the following remit will be put to theGeneral Meeting in Seoul:“That the General Meeting acknowledges that in all
corners of the world, child labour is an unacceptable
exploitation of the Rights of Children and that such
exploitation seriously and negatively impacts on theirlong term health and wellbeing. We call upon IFSW todevelop a position or policy statement against childlabour policies and practices.”
The second workshop in Bangkok highlighted poverty,
mental health and disasters as key themes affecting
the dignity and worth of people for our Global Agenda
report. The impact of these themes on indigenous
people was also recognised across our region. Once
finalised, this report will be included in the Phase IIreport as the Asia Pacific regional contribution to the
Global Agenda Initiative.
The Recent Refugee Crisis and its Worldwide
ImpactRegarding the recent refugee crisis, we hear news
about the constant mass flow of Syrian refugees andasylum seekers to Europe. Several governments,
especially EU nations and other European states, aswell as North American countries, etc., are making
statements about accepting these people. Social
workers and refugee support organisations willprobably be actively engaged in specific assistance inthe future. At the same time, we have to watch
humanitarian efforts and responses by national
governments very carefully as to how these are
impacting on issues of human rights and psychosocial
needs of refugees as well as the capacity andcapability of social workers and social workorganisations in dealing with the multitude ofchallenges posed.
Regional Human Resource Development and the
IFSW Development Fund
Originally utilising IFSW’S Development Fund, aDisaster Mitigation Workshop was held in Manila in2013 and another one in Indonesia in January 2014
with Japan taking the initiative in 2012. During theworkshop in Indonesia in 2015, a country frequented
by disasters, Mariko explained that even though the
IFSW Development Fund had ended, future disasterworkshops would be organised to continue to raiseawareness and to develop skills towards improvingsocial workers’ response to disasters. Indonesiancolleagues also stated that they wished to have similarworkshops in the future where they can enhance theirdisaster related skills.
Additional
Efforts
forProfessional
Skill
Development Workshops Funded from JapanThe Japanese Coordinating Body for IFSWMembership applied for grants for social work
personnel training in the Asia Pacific Region to theJapanese Centre of Social Welfare Promotion andNational Examination in February 2015. We managed
to receive grants to engage in these projects for atleast three years. The first workshop to train disaster
relief personnel took place in Jakarta, Indonesia
between 5th and 7th January 2016 and in Palawan,
the Philippines from February 29th to March 3rd,
2016. Both national associations of social workers in
the two countries helped extensively to organise these
events. We had 50 participants in Indonesia and 160
in the Philippines, including professionals fromneighbouring countries. Hence, we could contribute todevelopment of disaster support networks and theenhancement of disaster assistance skills in these twocountries, even extending to professional networks insurrounding ones.

special meaning to this day. Their reports follow. In
Indonesia, colleagues invited special guests from the
Pacific and held an event on this day with special
attention to human rights in accordance with thisyear’s theme of the Global Agenda. We should makespecial mention of Bangladesh. A young social worker,
Mr. Habibur Rahman took leadership and fifteen
related organisations came together to celebrate
World Social Work Day.

Bangladesh WSWD 2016 rally
The group of speakers & participants in Indonesia 2016

In August 2016, a workshop is scheduled to be held in
India on how to support women and children.
Similarly to the above, this workshop will be fundedfrom Japan, while local associations of social workers
will help with the organising. Additionally, a disasterworkshop is planned for January 2017 in cooperation
with the Malaysian Association of Social Workers.
India Joined IFSW as Full Member
In August, colleagues from India applied for IFSW
membership. Since according to our current
Constitution social workers from one nation can only
join as one umbrella organisation, six professional
associations in India formed their coordinating bodyfor international membership. Prior to this, theseassociations met in Bangalore (now officially
Bengaluru, according to pre-colonial traditional
pronunciation) and made their joint decision about
IFSW application. After a voting process by ballot by
the deadline of October 12, India was accepted as afull member of IFSW. The results were announced at
the IFSW-AP meeting of October 2015 in Thailand.
During the same time, the South Asia Social Work
Conference was held at the local Christ University, andMariko attended to represent our Federation.
World Social Work Day Celebration in the Asia
Pacific Region
Events celebrating World Social World Day were heldin the Asia Pacific Region focusing around March 15th,
2016. In New Zealand, 2014 was an anniversary year
for the national organisation since its establishment
so special celebrations took place at the end of thatyear. Social work associations in Hong Kong, Malaysia,
Palestine, and Yemen also scheduled events to give

The China Association of Social Workers had acelebration in Beijing on March 14th, with 200
participants from all around the country. During thiscelebration, in addition to presenting awards for
exceptional activities by social work organisations andsocial workers, the IFSW-AP President was also
invited. We look forward to similar lively activities
from the country in the future.
China to Host the Joint Regional Conference in
October 2017
During the meeting in Bangkok, the China Associationof Social Workers was given the green light to host thenext Joint Regional Social Work Conference inShenzhen in October 2017. Mariko continues tosupport the Organising Committee in preparing forthe conference.
In Conclusion
Finally, a few words on budgetary matters: Due tolimitations in financial resources at the globalorganisational level of IFSW, the future provision of
the Development Fund is not clear. According to the
Global President, efforts are being made to look forfunds apart from the regular IFSW budget. However,this fund is extremely important to the Asia-Pacific,
since our region has a large number and a wide
variety of social work organisations, while ourmembers are on very different developmental levels
facing very different circumstances. Therefore, on
behalf of us, Mariko has humbly asked the IFSWSteering Committee to restart the provision of thisfund in the future. At the same time, IFAP shouldcome up with fund raising strategies to assist our
regional work. We welcome any suggestions to assist
us with this.

There is plenty more to report, but due to the lack ofspace and time we would like to limit our report to theabove for now. With our new members, day-by-day
we are strengthening the great diversity embraced by
IFSW-AP. As your regional representatives, we wish tocontinue to attend as many events organised bymember associations as possible, get to know toactivities carried out by social workers and theirorganisation as much as possible, communicate theunique situation and the common themes to as manymember nations as possible and additionally makeappeals for our causes to the global organisation!
Thank you all for the enormous contributions you
make to IFSW Asia Pacific!

Accompanied by CASW representatives, Dr Kimuraalso had brief meetings with the Shanghai Bureau ofCivil Affairs and discussions on indigenised social
work development mode.

Reported by:
Mariko Kimura, IFAP Regional President
Mkimura1951@gmail.com, andRose Henderson, IFAP Regional Member-at-Large
Rose.Henderson@cdhb.health.nz

Meeting with Mr Zhu Qinhao, the Directorof Shanghai Bureau of Civil Affairs.

She also made a visit to local social workorganisations, and discussed social work development
and its challenges.

****************************************************IFSW-AP President’s Visit to China
On March 13th, 2016, Dr Mariko Kimura, the Presidentof IFSW-AP paid a visit to the China Association ofSocial Workers (CASW) in Beijing. During Dr Kimura’s
stay in China, she attended the 7th Chinese Social
Workers Annual Conference in Beijing where she
delivered the opening speech and joined Mr Gong
Puguang, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Civil
Affairs & President of CASW on stage to announce
China’s successful bid to host the 2017 Asia-Pacific
Joint Regional Social Workers Conference inShenzheng.

From left: Prof Wang Si Bin, Mr Xu Qida, Mr Gong Puguang,
Dr Mariko, Vice President & General Secretary of CASW,
Mr Liu Jing

Reported by:
Yvonneyangjian1228@outlook.com****************************************************

Report on World Social Work Day
2016 (Hong Kong)
This year marked the 9th year of World Social WorkDay celebrations in Hong Kong. In response to societal
change, the theme of this year was ‘Ignite social work
passion, build a new world together’ (點燃社工情 攜手創新天). The aim was to upkeep social workers’commitment to social work mission in promoting themutual support and collaboration among thepractitioners, academic, the government and different
stakeholders in society. Like previous years, Hong
Kong Social Workers Association took the lead in
forming the Social Work Day (HK) 2016 Organising
Committee with 14 other social work organisations.

This was a genuine joint partnership in the sector forachieving a common goal of pursuing professional
excellence and building a just and thriving community.
The Organisation Committee kicked off the planningin November last year. During the course, 3 major
events were launched, including i) the annual long run
race, ii) Social Work Day cake sharing, and iii) Social
Work Day Signature Event. The highlights of each
event are as follows:i) The Annual Long Run Race held on 21st February
2016 marked the commencement of World Social
Work Day (HK) 2016. Over 1000 people, comprisingsocial workers, service users and their family
members, and social work teachers & students, joined
this remarkable event. This year we set up a new
category for participants over 60 years old which
attracted 30 runners. This annual event signified thesolidarity of social workers and the partnership withthe service users in pursuit of a common goal. The
participation was very encouraging and theparticipants were in high spirit.

ii) Following the encouraging response in raising theawareness of social workers, their team and service
users about the message of Social Work Day, we
launched ‘Together we celebrate the Social Work Day’cake sharing event (同分享蛋糕 齊賀社工日 攜手創新天). We distributed 300 cake coupons to social
workers, social work teachers & students. Each was
required to write up a short message for the social
work profession and share the cake with a group of atleast 8 people (users, volunteers, colleagues or
students). All of the encouraging messages and thephotos of each group’s celebration of cake sharing
were posted on the Social Work Day website.

iii) Aligning with the World Social Work Day, thisyear’s signature event was held on 15 March 2016 at
the campus of Caritas Institute of Higher Education,

Tseung Kwan O. This event was to gather the fellow
social workers to examine and reflect on the concerns
and issues society and the profession encountered.
The topic this year was ‘Towards a Humane City:
Voices of Citizens’. We invited the Director of Social
Welfare as our guest of honour, to deliver the opening
address. It was followed by 2 enlightening sharing
from Dr Ng Mee-kam, who spoke from the perspectiveof urban planning on mother nature and humannature; and Dr Eve Wong, from a senior practitioner’s
angle on use of creative art in expressing passion. The
sharing sparkled off heated discussion and feedback
from the floor of 150 participants. Apart from sharing
session, it was followed by a most refreshing andengaging group experience on experiential arts, suchas circle painting, drum playing, creative drawing, etc.
Participants did not just think cognitively, but also
acted creatively to express their voice towards thevision of building a humane society.
We continued to ride on the Social Work Day (HK)website as a platform for our fellow social workers
and public in accessing information of the events, theprofession and social welfare sector. Besides, thewebsite also served as a platform for appreciation,compliments, and recognition of social work
contribution in society.
More information can be accessed from the following
hyperlink:
http://www.ctgoodjobs.hk/events/socialworkday_20
16/event.asp.
Reported by:
Irene Leung
Irene_Leung@hkt.salvationarmy.org****************************************************

Report on World Social Work Day
2016 (Malaysia)
In celebration of WSWD 2016, the Executive
Committee hosted a Public Forum on the theme‘Dignity & Worth of Peoples: No One Will Be Left
Behind’ to highlight the discrimination, exclusion,abuse and neglect of the poor, the undocumented
people, refugees and migrant minorities. This washeld on Saturday 19th March 2016 from 9.00am to
12.00 noon at Brickfields Asia College, Petaling Jaya.

While the discourse was guided by the global theme
which came from the Global Agenda for Social Workand Social Development driven by the International
Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), International
Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) andInternational Council of Social Welfare (ICSW), boththe United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) and the Eleventh Malaysia Plan (11MP) werealso highlighted in the forum with the emphasis on
inclusive development for all, especially the poor
‘Bottom 40 Per Cent’ (B40).
As Malaysia has now adopted the UN–SDG Agenda
2030 and has ratified the Convention on Rights of theChild as well as the Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW),Malaysia is obligated by international human rights
standards not to neglect non-citizens but to provide
them basic human needs as a humanitarian response.
In this context while we recognise that Malaysia has
formulated many policies and programmes for theequitable access of all communities, there might still
be some unresolved issues when it comes to actual
access and effective delivery for its citizens. In reality
too there are sizable sections of people who are noncitizens and who are part of the B40 community facing
major socio-economic as well as human rights
exclusion in modern Malaysia. They are theundocumented people, refugees, migrant workers andillegal migrants, mostly from ASEAN countries.

migrant workers and their families in need of medicalcare and discharge planning due to restrictive
government and hospital policies, and the situational
needs of the migrants themselves.
Mr James Nayagam from the Human Rights
Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) spoke offrustrations faced by the Commissioners ininvestigating and intervening in situations of humanrights violations. He also described the stress andtensions faced by both immigration officers and illegal
migrants in overcrowded detention centres, and thehighly infectious spread of tuberculosis among
foreigners in prisons, even affecting prison officers
and their families. The biggest problem though is thethinking that these illegals do not belong here andthey therefore do not get access to services unlessvisibly and physically ill.
Ms Aegile Fernandez, heading TENAGANITA, a civilsociety managing cases of migrant workers, refugees,
and stateless children described the trials andtribulations of dealing with so many varying needs.
Added to the difficulties, the workers are exposed topressures and lack of support from the authorities.
She stated that migration is a mess in Malaysia. She
urged Malaysians to take more responsibility and act
to change the situation.
Mrs Petrina Setvinder from Dignity for Children
Foundation talked about giving dignity to children as
an organisation running educational and community
based programmes including day care and counselling
support for the children of refugees andundocumented young people, including those on thestreets.

Speakers: Richard Towle, Datin RodhiahZakaria , James
Nayagam, Aegile Fernandez, and Petrina Setvinder

Mr Richard Towle, the UNHCR Representative in
Malaysia gave a lucid description of the global andlocal situation of refugees and migrants, and related
government policies/laws/inaction, corruption andpublic perceptions which have not helped to ease theproblem. He spoke about the need to legalise theserefugees and migrants and allowing them tocontribute to the economy and social communities as
the only way to reduce criminality, social stress,
infectious diseases, etc., and to promote their dignity
and worth as human beings. He added that Malaysia,
in not doing so will be leaving 4 million people behind.
He also extolled the work of social workers all over
the world, in trying to meet the psychosocial needs ofthis vulnerable group of people with limited support
from governments and limited resources.
Datin Rodhiah binti Zakaria, Head of the Medical
Social Work Unit, University of Malaya Medical Centre,
Kuala Lumpur shared the continuing dilemmas being
faced by health social workers in extending services to

Datuk Dr Denison summing up

In summation, Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria remarked
on 3 points: 1) the reality of issues gained fromstatistics, real life stories, casework practice, corrupt
officials, and negative perceptions of people inauthority as well as those in the community; 2) public
policies that are in place and that need to be put inplace to deal with the multitude of issues in relation to
the SDGs and ASEAN initiatives; 3) need for social
workers to adopt a more rights-based approach inpractice and to be professionally trained for the kindof work that TENAGANITA is doing, as well as
engaging with parliamentarians and strengthening
relationships with UNHCR and other like-mindedorganisations.
Reported by:
Elsie Leeelsilee@gmail.com***************************************************

Social Work in Bangladesh: The Wayof Practice and Progress
Background
In Bangladesh, social work as academic discipline
started through a short durational training coursewith the help of the United Nations in 1953 which was
extended later on. In 1958, the College of Social
Welfare and Research was established under the close
guidance of Dhaka University. In the session of 195859, this college started firstly social work academic
programs with 55 students. In 1973, the college wasrenamed as the Institute of Social Welfare andResearch (ISWR).

Habibur with invited speaker @ National Conventionof Acid Survivors Foundation
The ISWR at Dhaka University then started a 2 year
MA degree in social welfare and a 3 year BA Honors
degree in social work. This institute is currently
conducting a 4 year honors, regular 01Masters degree,
02 years Masters and 04 specialized Masters alongwith Masters of Philosophy and PhD degree. The
College of Social Work under Rajshahi University also
runs a 3 year Honors degree in social work in the year
1965-66, and in 1992-93, the National University
started both Honors and Masters degree withcompulsory field work.
Shahjalal University of Science and Technology
started B of Social Sciences (Hons) in social work inthe session of 1993-94. Currently this University isproviding Honors, Masters and PhD degree. In
addition, Jagannath University also started offering
Honors and Masters along with M. Philosophy and
PhD Degree. Pabna University of Science andTechnology has also started Honors and Masters insocial work.

Community meeting on child Issues of the slums

Present Status of Social Work in Bangladesh
Though social work has been introduced over five
decades in academia of Bangladesh but it could not
create space at mass level. Still there is a common
query regarding the status of social work like who are
the social workers - the academicians or thepractitioners, such as NGO workers/development
activists? If we designate the academicians as social
workers then the question comes - without practice inthe field how could they become social workers? On
the other hand, if we treat NGO workers ordevelopment activity workers who come fromdifferent educational background and do not possess
social work theoretical knowledge, how can they
become social workers with only work experience inthe field? In Bangladesh, social work is still not widely
known as a counseling-based service or a professional
service. In most cases, people rely on psychologists orphysicians for mental health problems. There is ahuge gap between academia and problem based
practice in Bangladesh. Actually it originated from theroot of professionalization process in Bangladesh.
Since social work is not a profession and even does
not bear any recognized social position, none of thebrilliant or career seeking students feel interested tochoose this subject. There are also no specific job
fields which require only social work graduates suchas medical social worker, school social worker, clinicalsocial worker, industry social worker anddevelopment activists, etc., as in developed countries.
Employability of Social Work Graduates
However, there has been a very slow and gradualrecognition of social work in the academia and social
service fields in Bangladesh over the decades. There
are thousands of NGOs working across the country.
Most of them are actively involved with various socioeconomic programs towards changing the conditionsof the poor. Beyond these activities, different efforts
are also made by the government itself or jointly withmany international organizations. Social work
graduates do try to seek employment in NGOs but
they face many problems as the employers are notwell concerned about the importance and applicabilityof social work knowledge. Social work has not yetachieved adequate attention and recognition from theconcerned authorities which basically means theState. People in fact do not know much about social
work discipline and tend to relate it with sociology
because of prejudices and misunderstanding
regarding the nature and scope of this discipline. Alsosocial work graduates have to compete with graduatesfrom other disciplines for social work jobs. Graduatesfrom other disciplines are getting jobs in such fields
where social work knowledge is mandatory such as
hospital social work, clinical social work and social
services department.
Although the employment opportunities for social
work graduates are not encouraging in Bangladesh,social work is actually unique and essential like manyother disciplines, for example, economics, law or evenpublic administration. Social work as an academic
discipline has all the attributes to grow in a fashionthat could be made distinguished by dint of its
outstanding contributions in the fields ofsocioeconomic development programs in a country
like Bangladesh. There are many fields where social
work practice can be extended to as Bangladesh is still
listed as a least developed country having poverty as
the major problem. Therefore, the core focus isrationally on poverty-reducing socio-economic
development programs by the government.
Potential Areas of Social Work Practice in
Bangladesh
Social work is basically a service oriented professionthat helps people to be more functional in personaland social life. As we know Bangladesh is socially andeconomically rapidly growing in terms of its
industrialization and technological development.
These types of process of development also create somany problems that occasionally require sustainable
solutions. Social Work is very appropriate to bringproper solution to all sorts of diversified problems. In
Bangladesh, the process of professionalization ofsocial work and diversified practice simultaneously is
expected to continue to evolve. Social work practice is
expected to extend to the following areas: schools,
especially preschool level, family counseling, hospitalor medical setting, clinical setting, industry setting, in
corporate offices, in banks and NGOs, in community
clubs, for child/adult and aged counseling, etc., as
Bangladesh is facing multifaceted problems.
A Glimpse at a Few Recent Social Work Activities
Since there is no established professional social
workers association in Bangladesh, no remarkable
events were observed by the social workers over theyears. In 2016, the Department of Sociology & Social
Work of the People’s University of Bangladesh
pioneered the celebration of World Social Work Day
2016 on 15th March in association with more than 15
other development organizations through holding arally and organizing a seminar in Bangladesh. Amongthe partners, the National Association of Social

Workers, Bangladesh (NASW, B) has performed a verysignificant role to celebrate the day so remarkably.

Delegates from various NGOs at the rally for WSWD 2016

Faculty staff with students and delegates at WSWD 2016

The news of the events has been widely covered inboth electronic and print media. A few otheruniversities also observed the day accordingly. So
many activities have recently been performed keeping
focus on social work professional expansion towards
serving humanity.
Reported by:
Md. Habibur Rahman
rahmanh7@gmail.com******************************************************

Community Development Project ofCentre for Social Action (CSA), India
Theme: Promoting Human Dignity and Worth of
Persons
Case Study: Ms Shakuntala, 36 years old“I have an identity of my own now. I’m known by myname and I have received appreciation andacceptance as an important part of thiscommunity.”
Background / Context
Rarely in historical or religious writings have awoman been named and discussed as an individual
except in terms of an exceptional ability or inability tofulfil family obligations. Women were rarely
remembered as individuals even when they did
something memorable (Rajkumar, 2000). Keeping inview the status of women in developing countries like

India, the present case study of Ms Shakuntala has
been conducted to examine the empowerment of
women in context of community development projectof Centre for Social Action (CSA) - a centre at Christ
University, Bangalore, for promoting volunteerism
and enabling students to develop as socially
responsible
citizens
throughdevelopmental
initiatives.
During the years of 2003-2010, CSA had implemented
a community development project covering 14
villages in Jadehenahalli Hobli, Hoskote Taluk,
Bengaluru Rural District in Karnataka State.
Themajor focus of the project was on children and women
empowerment under 5 major components namely:
1. Early Childhood Care & Nutrition, 2. Strengthening
Children Education, 3. Community Health andHygiene, 4. Livelihood Development and 5. Promotionof Community Based Organizations (CBOs). At the
beginning of the project intervention Ms Shakuntala
was one of the beneficiaries under antenatal and postnatal care support programme.
Ms Shakuntala
Ms Shakuntala was born to a lower middle classagricultural family in the year
1982 in Baddhepalli village,
Hosur, Tamil Nadu, India. She
completed her schooling at the
government school in Baglur,
Hosur and cleared her 10th
grade with good scores. She
attempted to pursue her
education but was unable to doso as her parents got her
married to a man from Hoskote. She had to give up her
studies although she was smart and capable ofachievements. In 1998 she moved to her husband’shome and started living the regular life every girl is
expected to. By the year 2003 she was a full time
housewife and mother of three, staying indoors andher world was limited to her family alone. Her in -laws
were conservative and only allowed her to moveoutdoors to graze cattle or fetch water.
The only interaction Ms Shakuntala had with theoutside world and the community was when thewomen would gather and have a casual chat during
the cattle grazing. It was during the year 2003 – 2004
in one of these conversations that the other women
mentioned the self-help groups and how they function
for the benefit of the members. Young Shakuntala
instantly loved the idea but did not take the offers of
the other women to join the group as she was wellaware of what her in-laws’ reaction to her boldattempts would be. She was more educated than theother members and hence they kept asking her to join
the group. Some members approached her in-laws aswell but they refused to allow her to join the SHG.
Once, her father visited her and discussed the samewith her in-laws. She was then permitted to join thegroup with a number of rules and restrictions that
intended to safeguard the values of the family.
Brief summary of activity / action being
showcased (what was done, how it was done)
Ms Shakuntala was enrolled in the Self-Help Group
promoted in her village by CSA. She was one of theactive members in the group and never missed any
training and meetings conducted by the project staff.
Having been educated up to SSLC, the project staff
motivated her to take the role of Health Care Worker
in the project and performed well in her duties. Dueto her experience, skills and knowledge gained in the
project she has been selected as Accredited Social
Health Activist in the local Primary Health Centre andattended all health related assignments in her
communities. Her knowledge and skills in managing
SHGs, micro finance, bank linkages, problem solving
skills, book keeping, networking with various
government, and private service providers helped her
to execute all her tasks well. When asked about thechanges CSA has brought into her life, Ms Shakuntalasaid, “I was carrying my third child and I was very weak
and CSA took initiatives to help me with nutritious food,they assisted the education of my 2 other children. Morethan anything else I have an identity of my own now”.
Outcomes
At the end of the project period i.e., in 2010 June,
when CSA decided to withdraw its support, 15 groupleaders from SHGs were selected and trained invarious managerial skills, and handed the
responsibilities of continuing the project on their own.
Initially they were struggling a little bit but they aresteady and strong now. The federation has beenregistered as Souhardhaunder Co-operative under theSocieties Act and Ms Shakuntala is one of theexecutive committee members as secretary. She has
been given the responsibility of managing the entire
project in the position of Community Organiser andpaid a monthly salary from the federation fund.

Ms Shakuntala at her work place

Presently she has been visiting all 12 project villages
and has developed very good rapport with thecommunities. She monitors regularly the functions of
Self-Help Groups, Cluster Level Activities, andChildren Activity Centres, etc. She has very good
rapport with the line departments and brings schemes
for the benefit of the poor. The Federation has Rs.75
lakhs generated through the micro finance grant (26lakhs) given from the project fund which is very
systematically managed and controlled by thefederation members with the leadership of Ms
Shakuntala. She is the pillar of the project after CSA’s
withdrawal and CSA has lauded her effective role inmaking the project a sustainable one.
Ms Shakuntala is an important member of her
community, she is well known among both students
and staff members at Christ University and CSA for
her heartening story and achievements. She said,
more than anything else, “I have an identity of my own
now. I’m known by my name and I have received
appreciation and acceptance as an important part ofthis community”.
“Even in my family I am now looked at with respect andnot as an object that cooks, washes and fulfills every
one’s commands.”“There were days when I wished I could go back andstudy but now the village has offered me a post in the
Panchayat (the Local Self Government of Rural areas).
I’ve been able to keep away caste prejudices and I feelcomplete and whole. My energy has been channelled
into such a transformation in my family, in my village
and community. People trust my words and seek myadvice. I am no more that cornered teenager who didn’t
have a voice. And all this would have been a dream if
not for CSA and its volunteers.”
Implications for ongoing professional practice/service delivery
Self-help groups and micro-financing is impacting the
lives of many people in the rural India. Ms Shakuntala
is a living example of these efforts. To move frombeing treated as a girl with restricted financial
freedom, or rather no freedom, to a lady who deals
with millions in a savings account, involves actively inthe community activities, promotes small enterprises
and leads many more women to empowerment, is anabsolutely noteworthy impact.
Ms Shakuntala is one of those very few empowered
women and a role model in the development of
women and their communities in her village. The roleof her husband is also appreciated as he has given her
all the support for her to attend to her work without
any problem. She orientates the students of Christ
University on the project activities, strategies,
networking/liaison, and resource mobilisation, andshe co-ordinates the students’ rural camps.

She is now proud to be a woman from a muchmarginalised family and scheduled caste communityand says with tears in her eyes that her status in thesociety has gone up comparatively. She neverimagined that staff from government departments andbanks will call her “Madam”. But she made it with her
hard work and networking. Community members callher “Akka” (Elder sister) which is a respectable wordin her community. Her commanding voice makesother leaders and members very active and sincere in
their work. She has been the bridge between CSA andthe Federation and updates all the development
works through reports implemented in the villages.
This is one of the success stories from the sustainable
development intervention of CSA projects.

Prof Dr Mariko Kimura chatting with Ms Shakuntala

CSA carries out community based development
projects in many villages in Hoskote, Kolar, Bangaloreurban and in other states. They focus on empowering
the localities to confront their problems and overcome
them through the resources they can find forthemselves. Women like Ms Shakuntala haveenhanced their hidden potentials and also contributeto their communities impacting the lives of many
more people. When asked about what she would liketo say to the world and her counterparts, she
responded immediately, “Educate your girls, and allow
them to move out”. Most women think they must stayat home and not cause disrespect to the family by
doing bold things. They often think only men aresupposed to be active participants of the society. But
they must come out, and if they do they can change
their family, their village, their community and it will
eventually change the whole country. “Girls must be
educated too. They must progress because they havethat unique power and potential to lead the country
into development.”
There are many more women like Ms Shakuntala inour country who need motivation. Many women are
hoping for a chance to prove their capabilities. There
will hopefully be many more women like Ms
Shakuntala who will continue to nurture morebrilliant and efficient communities in the society. This
world needs women like Ms Shakuntala who workwith determination and dedication at the same time
who do not compromise on their family’s welfare. She
is indeed an example to learn from. CSA’s support andefforts in this regard is immense and must be
appreciated.
Reference:
Kumar, Raj. (2000), Violence Against Women, Anmol
Publications Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi.
http://csa.christuniversity.in.

more on working in emergency response and inproviding psychosocial support. Target participants
were social workers, barangay officials, practitioners
from allied professions, lecturers, researchers anddecision makers.

Report submitted by:Dr
SheejaKaralam,
Associate
Professor,
Department of Social Work, Christ University,
Bangalore
Ms Sangeetha George, IV Semester Student ofMaster of Social Work Specialising in Community
Development, Department of Social Work, Christ
University, Bangalore
Prof Dr Mariko Kimura, Professor of Social Work,
Japan Women’s University, President of IFAP, 1stVice President, IFSW****************************************************

National Seminar Workshop on
Building Resiliency in the Face ofDisasters, Philippines
2-4 March 2016

Ms Eva Ponce De Leon making her speech

Amidst the continuing threat of disasters and theforeseeable havoc it can bring to many families andcommunities, the seminar workshop was deemed
timely and relevant to the call of the times. The
Philippines experiences major human-made andnaturally-caused disasters every year, the strongest ofwhich so far was Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013.
Family survivors are still reeling from its traumaticeffects as it taught them important lessons in life.

Participants enjoying a lively session
Mr. Jerwin T. Navarro addressing the audience

The Philippine Association of Social Workers, Inc., incooperation with the Japanese Coordinating Body for
the International Federation of Social Workers,
spearheaded the conduct of the National SeminarWorkshop on Building Resiliency in the Face ofDisasters on March 2-4, 2016. The seminar workshop
was held at the beautiful Ponce de Leon Garden
Resort, Puerto Princesa City, Philippines. This
worthwhile endeavor was coordinated by a team ofvisionaries and organizations bound by a common
goal: to spread awareness about disaster risk
management and develop resilience among people.
The event was attended by 309 participants from thePhilippines and other IFSW-AP member countries.
Participants represented different organizations
including the local government units, non-government
and international social development organizations.
They came to share their rich experiences and learn

Field Visit

Overall, the event was evaluated as very good withcompetent resource persons who shared theirexperiences through their presentations. Participants
were satisfied with the learning they got fromdifferent topics which they considered relevant totheir functions as social workers. Most of them foundthe topics very enriching as their knowledge, skills

and techniques needed before, during, and after
disasters were enhanced. How to collect relevant
accurate data during disaster and the importance ofpartnership and networking were especially givenemphasis.

from January 12-14, 2016 at Training Center Pusdiklat
Margaguna, Jakarta.

The participants

Introduction session

Report submitted by:Secretariat of the Philippines Association of Social
Workers
paswi_1948@yahoo.com******************************************************The program aimed to strengthen roles and skills ofsocial workers in providing psychosocial support indisaster situations. After the program, participants
were able to:
1. Explain advanced knowledge of psychosocial
support.
2. Improve the psychosocial support program thatthey design to respond to psychosocial needs indisaster situations.
3. Demonstrate the roles and skills in provision of
psychosocial support in disaster situations to respondto target groups that they manage.

The learning forum welcomed 58 participant from allover Indonesia and four (4) countries in Asia Pacific;
The Philippine, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Japan. The
participants were representatives of social workers,
humanitarian workers, government institutions,students and academics.

1st Learning Forum on Psychosocial
Support in Disaster Situations:
the Roles and Skills of Social Workers
in Asia PacificProf. Dr. Ismail Baba in a sharing session

Mr. Margowiyono, the Secretary of Directorate General for
Social Protection and Security from the Ministry of Social
Affairs giving a brief on disaster management efforts

The Indonesian Association of Social Workers or
Ikatan Pekerja Sosial Profesional Indonesia (IPSPI), in
collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs of the
Republic of Indonesia and the Japanese Coordinating
Body for IFSW Membership, organized a three days
international learning forum on Psychosocial Support
in Disaster Situations. The Learning Forum was held

Nurul Eka in another session

The program featured three sections:
1. Inspiration speeches: on the first day, the speechdelivered by Mr. Margowiyono, the Secretary of
Directorate General for Social Protection and Security
from the Ministry of Social Affairs gave an
inspirational speech about the Ministry’s efforts in
Disaster Management and the implementation ofpsychosocial support in disaster response inIndonesia. On the third days, speeches were deliveredby Mr. Ryo Oshima, represented The IFSW-AP and Mr.
Yasuharu Nakashima represented the Japanese
Association of Certified Social Workers. Both shared
the Japanese experiences in disaster management.
2. Program learning session: Sharing practices andlearning from field on provision of psychosocial
supports in disaster situation. Program continued
with discussion of parallel session. Participants weredivided into three group based on subthemes:i) Understanding psychosocial needs of disaster's
survivors & Implementation of rights based approachand principles in psychosocial support; ii) Knowledgeof therapies used in disaster situation & Stressmanagement for social workers in providing
psychosocial support in disaster situation; and iii)
Developing psychosocial support models for: children,
woman and other vulnerable groups in disastersituation & Community based psychosocial support indisaster situation.

The participants

Report submitted by:
Nurul Eka Hidayati, Secretary-General, IPSPI
nurul_eh@yahoo.com******************************************************

Upcoming Social Work Events in
2016

IASSW-ICSW-IFSW 4th Joint World Conference
on Social Work, Education and Social
Development 27th – 30th June 2016 Seoul, Korea

Dialog with survivors in Rusunawa Jakarta

3. Skills building sessions: Workshop sessions in theafternoon to enhance skills on psychosocial capacities.
Participants were divided into two groups and visited
two locations that have implemented psychosocial
support program; temporary housing for survivors inarea of landslides in Bogor, West Java and residentialbuilding apartment for survivors for eviction in
Kampung Pulo, Jakarta.

The theme of the conference is based on “Promoting
the Dignity and Worth of People”, the second of four
themes of the Global Agenda for Social Work andSocial Development.
SWSD2016 Secretariat
B1F Korea National Social Welfare Bldg., 14 Mallijaerro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, Korea 121-706
Tel: +82-566-6031/6033
Fax: +82-2-566-6087
e-mail: seoul@swsd2016.org

The 8th International Conference on Social
Work in Health and Mental Health
19th – 23rd June 2016 Singapore
Dialog with survivors in temporary shelter in Bogor

The significant result from the learning forum wasurgency to developed the capacity building of social
workers, develop training modules, standards ofcompetence and service on psychosocial support indisaster situation.

Organised by:Singapore Association of Social Workers inPartnership with

http://icsw2016singapore.org/

Organised by:
CBR Global Network, Ministry of Women, Family &Community Development, and Social Institute of
Malaysia
http://www.2ndcbrworldcongress.com

2nd International Social Development
Conference
17th – 18th August 2016, Langkawi Island,
Malaysia
Organised by:
School of Applied Psychology, Social Work & Policy,
UUM College of Arts & Sciences, Universiti Utara
Malaysia, the Ministry of Women, Family &Community Development, and Social Institute of
Malaysia
Tel.: +604 928 5717 / 5718 / 5719 / 5720 / 5721
Fax: +604 928 5757 / 5754
E-mail:ppps@uum.edu.my******************************************************

Capacity Building Workshop for Child Rights
Social Workers‘Child Rights and Social work Intervention’
18th – 19th August 2016
Bangalore, India
Organised by the India Network of Professional Social
Workers’ Associations (INPSWA) in collaboration with
the Japanese Coordinating Body for IFSWMembership, and co-sponsored by the JapaneseCenter for Social Welfare Promotion and National
Examination. Limited to 50 participants.
Applications & inquiries to:
Sriganesh M. V., Secretary General, INPSWA
Tel: +91 9901533633
e-mail: mvsriganesh@gmail.com

2nd CBR World Congress: Empowering and
Enabling
27th – 29th September 2016
Kuala Lumpur
The focus is to provide a setting for diverse
communities of practice, policy, education, researchand social development to engage in a dialogue topromote the well-being of persons with disability
around the world.

*****************************************************To be announced soon…
IFSWAP-APASWE Regional Joint Conference
2017 in Shenzhen, China

IFSW Asia Pacific Regional
Committee
President:
Mariko Kimura (Japan)
Member-at-Large: Rose Henderson (New
Zealand)Secretary:
Irene Leung (Hong Kong)
Treasurer:
Michiko Hirata (Japan)
Members:
Sung-Kyung Kang
(Korea)Karen Healey (Australia)
Eva Ponce de Leon (ThePhilippines)
Sharima Ruwaida Abbas(Malaysia)
Elsie Lee (Publications
Secretary, Malaysia)
Ex-Officios:
Ng Shui Lai (Human
Rights, Hong Kong)
Elsie Lee (Ethics
Representative,
Malaysia)
Regional Advisor: Justina Leung(Immediate Past
President, Hong Kong)
Editor: Elsie Lee (Malaysia)
Layout: Jodi Johnstone (Australia)
Publisher: Griffith University for IFSW Asia PacificRegion (Australia)
Note to Contributors:
Please send items, stories and articles preferably inMS Word format as well as photos to the Editor, Elsie
Lee, at elsilee@gmail.com.