We celebrate the dauntless spirit of our social workers on Social Work Month 2022 which took place on 15 March 2022. We want to thank you, all social workers, for tirelessly giving your best to bring joy, comfort, and peace to the hearts of your clients. Over the next few days, we will be sharing with you the stories of our social workers.

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“One of my first few cases as a social worker involved a family, who had a senior living with them. It was initially flagged as a financial assistance case but soon evolved into an unfortunate case of abuse. Through regular home visits and active monitoring of the family, we picked up on the red flags and eventually, the case was flagged up for elder abuse. We worked collaboratively with different agencies including MSF, and thankfully, the senior got the help she needed.

A common misconception that clouds the role of social workers is that we deal mainly with financial issues, and we are “solution providers” and must solve all problems immediately. That’s not true! The role of a social worker is complex, and the cases we work on very often intertwine with the micro and macro level, as narrated earlier. I was fortunate to have experienced the complexity and impact of the role as a social worker right from the onset of my journey.

One of the biggest impacts for me is the ability to bring about change at the individual, community, and (hopefully) societal level. In AWWA Early Intervention Centre (EIC), we seek to work collaboratively with caregivers in a dynamic partnership. We aim to empower them with the knowledge, skills and resources to support them in their journey as a caregiver, right from the start of their child’s early phase of growth and development. This is a crucial stage, as caregivers are working towards maximising their child’s positive outcomes and learning how to advocate for their child.

I like being at the heart of the helping profession. It is invigorating to see the strengths of families in working hard to manage their challenges. This, to me, is the greatest reward of being a social worker” – Letchumi, Social Worker at AWWA Early Intervention Centre.