Social work gets more specialized
- By Wu Jin
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail China.org.cn, May 1, 2012
Staring at the countless vehicles accelerating, braking or blaring their horns in Shanghai's Pudong New Area, a plump boy stood at an intersection for three hours, confused and stunned, even though the traffic lights blinked numerous times from red to green.
Being mentally retarded, the middle school-age boy, surnamed Wu, has never crossed a busy street on his own before. However, for the first time in his life, Wu would prove he could cross the street and withdraw cash from an ATM machine with little assistance.
Wu would likely not have been able to accomplish this task had the Pudong Association of Social Workers not come into his life.
|
|
|
The handicapped people draw the picures during their trip on the Mountain of suburban Hangzhou. [Courtesy of Pudong Association of Social Workers] |
Although his feat took much more time than an average child, the social workers behind him had no intention to intervene. Instead, they waited as the minutes ticked by.
"[While we waited], we could feel the true pulse of his life," said Xie Qian, Director of the Project Development Department of Pudong Association of Social Workers.
In social work, passion is certainly important, Xie said. But patience and skills are also in need, she explained, because professionalism is the only way for a career in social work to be sustainable. It is this determination and sense of professionalism that enables social workers to spend hours with Wu helping him accomplish tasks with his own hands and mind.
"Many of the Chinese parents would eventually give up after finding that their child is irreversibly slow and retarded. However, to me, their disabilities are not theirs, but, instead, ours," Xie said.
To stimulate the eagerness of the handicapped children for independence and social integration, Xie and her colleagues organized several community and outdoor events in an attempt to help the children reevaluate their abilities.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)