Social Workers' Day

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Yeah! The first-ever Social Workers' Day is finally over... I really would never have expected to be able to see this day; a day all social workers can go all out to proclaim who we really are. I can imagine the joy of the pioneers social workers seeing that a day is finally here to recognise the contributions of the countless social workers working behind the scenes.

I really had great fun being amidst people who passionately care and continue to humbly work with the needy and underprivileged; tolling away despite high stress and low pay. Frankly, I do miss the days working in direct social work. All I can say is that although I am no longer in direct social work practice, I still feel pretty much a social worker and am proud to be one.

It was a youthful event and for once, I was beginning to feel hope for the profession. A year back, things were quite bad and younger social workers were not stepping up to take leadership and be part of the professional body, let alone come together to advocate for the profession. But today, seeing so many young social workers coming to support the event, I thought to myself, "things have changed"... Then when the minister finally announced about revision of pay scale for social workers and other benefits for social workers, everyone cheered in unison. Boy, do I really miss social work.

Actually, on one hand, I am thrilled to know that Social Workers' Day ended with a bang but on the other hand, I feel so relieved that now, one more commitment is off my to-do list. In a way, I also feel quite guilty for not having done much in the committee. Given the me a few years ago, I would have given my all. I guess having been disappointed by a few people in the professional body and coupled with the fact I am dying from an ever-growing list of to-dos, I just didn't put in as much as I would have had in the past. I know, excuses... People came to thank me for helping but really I didn't do much...

By the end of the event, I can see the joy and sense of satisfaction on the faces of the committee. I wanted to feel that joy but then guess I haven't been too involved to begin with, so don't feel as exhilarated as some of them. Maybe, it is a matter of priorities. I guess it is a valuable lesson; I have been trying to do so much in such little time, so much so I am not enjoying the process... OK, this year really need to cut down on my commitment and just focus on a few things, so I can be meaningfully involved and enjoy the whole process.

Here's my "loot" for the day :)


Anyway, everything went extremely well for the whole day except for the news coverage on TV about the event. Really almost want to wring some necks when they reported on Social Workers' Day but showed video footage of volunteers cutting hair, painting houses, mopping floor etc... sighhh... no wonder people keep thinking we social workers are volunteers and no wonder no one wants to study social work and come into the field... the press kit wrote very clearly that social workers are not volunteers but apparently someone did not read the kit properly... so annoyed!