History of the 'Africanized' Social Work in Kenya
WezaCare Solutions
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By Mutheu Njoroge - Women Empowerment & Child Welfare Activist | Social Media Manager and Copywriter at WezaCare Solutions
Did you know that Social Work in Kenya existed even before the precolonial times through household heads, rikas ( mentors), and village elders??
These socio-cultural support systems were and have always been embedded in our culture and way of living. Through this, Child Welfare matters that required social interventions were managed at both individual and community levels. This means that the majority of the roles of modern-day social workers were implemented by household heads, rikas (mentors), and village elders at the time.
Like in most African communities, 'Child Welfare and Social Work' was largely practiced in Kenya through communal effort– children belonged to the community.?
Modern-day Social Work has made some incredible advancements and milestones, but interestingly, we still find ourselves going back to that former family and communal system as opposed to Institutionalized Childcare.
Why? Scholarly research has recently highlighted some form of disconnect and negative (emotional, mental, and social development) effects of Institutionalized Childcare on vulnerable children.?
The bottom line is that the African culture is centered more on a child being raised by the community, and? Child Welfare and Social Work in Kenya cannot detach its relevance from it. Besides this, the WorldBank reports that Kenya has one of the youngest populations globally, at 38% of the population composed of children under the age of 14. The translating number of children in institutions is clearly overwhelming. This means that the institutions cannot provide more focused care to vulnerable children who, most of the time, need different forms of caregiving.??
Through the National Care Reform,? there is more effort to address the issues affecting a child’s welfare instead of separating them from family care/community care and placing them in institutionalized care.
The National Care Reform shifts child care to a system that resonates and is more relevant to our Kenyan and African context; where a child is not deprived of parental or kinship care and affection. To do this, the National Care Reform focuses on a childcare system that reduces and eliminates reliance on institutionalized child care by using three pillars. These three pillars focus more on;?
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The disconnect is also reflected between what is taught (academic learning) and the actual practice on the ground. Fortunately, Kenya has made some noteworthy achievements in developing an Afro-centric curriculum that integrates indigenous models in social work practice and learning.
Interestingly, formal social work education was first offered as a diploma in 1962 at the Kenya-Israel School of Social Work. The degree-level training was later offered at the University of Nairobi in 1976.
Despite the early start and developments so far, Kenya still grapples with an insufficient number of trained Child Welfare social workers, where most social workers and trainers have little to no background training.?
In spite of all these challenges, many social workers still manage to make a difference in so many children's lives. We continue to recognize and celebrate your tireless effort for these reasons and more. Asanteni sana!
#ThursdayThrowback #DidYouKnow #SocialWorkHistory #AfricanSocialWorkers #AfricanizedSocialWork #ChildWelfare #FamilyIsLove #CareReformKenya #SocialWorkerProblems #SocialWorkers #FrontlineWorkers #PamojaTunaWeza #WezaCare?
Info credits: @KenyaNationalAssociationofSocialWorkers
“The state of social work education and practice in Kenya” by Gidraph Gachunga Wairire