Empowerment.
It is such a central idea to Social Work, International Development, Crisis Lines, and even life in general.
In my Social Work class we constantly talk about the importance of working to empower the client to make their own changes. Too often the person in need gets blamed for the position they are in, but as a social worker it is your job to help both society and your client realize that that is not necessarily the case. Until the client believes that they have enough self worth and value to be able to come out of hard times, they will never progress.
This same concept applies in participatory development. This theory emphasizes the importance of finding solutions through the people, and not simply imposing foreign ideals on a local community. Effective change can only come from within the community, when they are invested in the project, knowledgable about its functions, and put in charge of its operation. Even handouts can be destructive to a community. As the old saying goes, "Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he eats for a lifetime". This same concept can be applied to making clothes, building wells, preventing disease, and nearly another other developmental project; You are most successful when you are no longer needed.
I am currently volunteering at a Crisis Line, where these same concepts apply. We are most successful when the callers no longer need us to work through their problems. We are there to listen, and help them work through their problems, NOT to solve them for them. Only they can solve their problems, we are just there to support and assist.
Through these many different perspectives I have learned the importance of empowerment, and seen the greater power in empowerment.
It is such a central idea to Social Work, International Development, Crisis Lines, and even life in general.
In my Social Work class we constantly talk about the importance of working to empower the client to make their own changes. Too often the person in need gets blamed for the position they are in, but as a social worker it is your job to help both society and your client realize that that is not necessarily the case. Until the client believes that they have enough self worth and value to be able to come out of hard times, they will never progress.
This same concept applies in participatory development. This theory emphasizes the importance of finding solutions through the people, and not simply imposing foreign ideals on a local community. Effective change can only come from within the community, when they are invested in the project, knowledgable about its functions, and put in charge of its operation. Even handouts can be destructive to a community. As the old saying goes, "Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he eats for a lifetime". This same concept can be applied to making clothes, building wells, preventing disease, and nearly another other developmental project; You are most successful when you are no longer needed.
I am currently volunteering at a Crisis Line, where these same concepts apply. We are most successful when the callers no longer need us to work through their problems. We are there to listen, and help them work through their problems, NOT to solve them for them. Only they can solve their problems, we are just there to support and assist.
Through these many different perspectives I have learned the importance of empowerment, and seen the greater power in empowerment.
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