Nelson Mandela (Blog Post 14)

Observation: Nelson Mandela passed away yesterday.

Someone could write a book alone with Nelsons wise words. Nelson Mandela is someone I had always heard about growing up as a inspirational and important political figure for South Africa. Often as social workers or at least myself, wonder what I can really do or accomplish in this life. I believe that Nelson Mandela is a tribute to what a man can accomplish in his life.

He worked becoming a lawyer and advocate for the ANC and was repeatedly arrested by the government for treason and led a campagin to overthrow the government. Mandela served 27 years in prison and got out in 1990. He became the first black president of South Africa 4 years later and worked to end apartheid and bring race reconciliation to South Africa.

He lived his whole live fighting with a purpose and a midst all of the hate and bigotry he endured, he overcame and his visions have been becoming not just realities for South Africa, but for the world. We should look at stories like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Rosa Parks, and many other inspiring figures to remember what each of us are capable of doing in our lifetime.

Do not doubt what you can do. You are beautifully made and capable of greatness. "It always seems impossible till it's done." -Nelson Mandela.

The War on Drugs. (Blog Post 13)

Observation: I watched a documentary called the House I Live In  in my social inequalities class which is about the war on drugs in America and what has been happening on it.

I don't know a lot about prison and drugs, but from what I've been learning I think I can say something is screwed up.

We can agree that drugs are "bad," but what is evil is how we have responded to drugs in America. Prisons have been privatized and this has led to the changes in policies that push for more active police work to "stop criminals." We see how politicians are influenced to conform to stupid ideas that lead to high consequences and penalties for crimes that involve drugs. Even if its understood that these are not always the most effective ways to stop drug flow and usage from happening, they do it in order to get re-elected. Prisons are getting filled up with people who have done minimal crimes and we already learned about this punishment system that is happening that is not helping compared to a preventative or treatment attitude towards people who are caught using.

Changes need to be focused on the bigger problems such as the suppliers of these drugs and how its traveling up from I-35 up past Austin, Dallas to Chicago and spreading across the nation. Its hard to understand how and why our current leaders are doing what they are doing in this war that Nixon began. I really reccomend that you guys watch this documentary. It brings up great questions and provides supplemental info that we heard about the prison system and what its doing when we had our guest speaker (sorry, I forgot her name =[  )  talk about when she told us about her experiences and her son.

It is definitely interesting to see how all of these things are interdependent on one another. Foreign policy, narcotic and drug laws, prison sentences, treatment of addiction, and stigmas on addicts etc are all inter-related and influence one another.  <-- Many more problems for us to solve in the future!

A Disturbing Truth (Blog Post 12)

Observation: My friend told me about an article from BBC about how the culture of India is creating problems in bringing justice to those who are being raped. 

Last year a huge story developed from this case that happened almost a year ago in Delhi. Check it out here

After these series of events many changes have begun to take place in India on the topic of rape and gender. Many protests began occurring on bringing awareness to rape and what it has been doing to its women and society. India has a powerful history with a strong culture. Much of it is influenced with views stemming from Hinduism. --> Check out this article about a campaign that was used to bring domestic violence awarness to the public. Women are highly regarded in Hinduism, but its crazy to see how over the years my mother countries culture has evolved into something that is entirely different.

India has a long ways to go in being a equal nation. It is the worlds largest democracy, and has so much potential for greatness. Unfortunately right now its still lost in the darkness of its injustices.

In the observation article, a younger 17 year old women was raped by a group of men that are in a high caste of people. If you are familiar, India used to have a caste system of people which put people into classes of people and it created much inequality between groups. The women raped is in the lowest group considered not even to be a caste (the untouchables). 

In court they blamed the victim for many and used her class as the basis of their decision and treatment towards her. The boys who were being charged with the rape were even offered water in the hot courtroom while she was neglected. This story brings up the problems that India is still facing with the caste system even if it has been ended officially.  

Their are old practices and laws that are still being used today which indicate whether a victim was raped. (Two finger rule in article and the use of the Non-penatrative sexual act are still being utilized)

India is a country where only 3% of the law enforcement are women and police have the ability to refuse to register sex crimes. 

The girl's father in this case committed suicide later that day when police first refused to register the charge. 

There is so much that can be discussed with this case and it's sensitivity. Like any client, it is important for us to understand where they are in order for us to work effectively with them. India as a client has many issues that influencing this case. Something that needs to be understood that is different from how we view things here in the States is the idea of shame. India is a very communal place not like the U.S. and public shame has a general far greater effect on a person and their community in India than it does in the U.S. Its important to also recognize the consqueunces the caste system, and the patriarchal system that plays a role in India.

We are social workers and world changers must be sensitive and open to the cultures and systems that we work with. Its important to recognize the different worldviews and perspectives people have and how they play a role in the lives of people in their respective communities while we try to understand and create solutions to the problems we see in today's world. 

--> Check out this gang of women fighting sex trafficking in India who are making the changes they wish to see in the world. 

Bullying. #StandUpDontStandBy(Blog Post 11)

Observation: Most recently, I came across Bullying video and made me think about how bullying has been something that I have seen more in the news recently  and the needs for it to be addressed has grown more than I have ever seen before.

Dolphins Bullying Case
Shea Shawhan -- bully victim from Plano Texas. -- Led to a movement called ImWithShea
Sarah, a teen with Neurofibromatosis shows her strength through times of adversity
A News Anchors Replies Perfectly to her Bully
^ hope you enjoy all these recent articles that shed an ounce of the justice deserved against bullying.

I came across the story about Shea Shawhan earlier this year in September when it was a story that was developing into a headline and a facebook group. I was so irritated that this was happening to this innocent girl, but even more ashamed that it was coming from a nearby school, Plano West.

As I write about it now, it is awesome to see that an arrest has been made to the other party that has been doing this cyberbullying since Feburary. I really reccomend that you all check out the story and its related articles. Someone was sending texts and using an app on a smart phone that would send hundred to thousands of text messages to Shea's phone with hurtful words. Texts to Shawhan were sent as far back as February. They included messages such as “kill urself”; telling the Plano West girl to have one of her “seizures and die”; references to rape; calling her a slut and making fun of her having special needs, according to screenshots of the texts Shawhan’s mother posted on Facebook. 

When you tell someone something a couple thousand times, they might start believing it. Its unfortunate to see the effects and results that happens when bullying happens to someone. Its even more disappointing to see that it happens with adults (news anchor and even in the NFL). We must be a society that condones acts of bullying, discrimination, and hate and swiftly fight back. It doesn't take fists or more mean words to end something like bullying, but dialogues, conversations, and allies to create these changes we hope to see. 

Check out this anti-bullying short story! 

Kenya Dig It? (Blog Post 10)

Observation: Reflecting on International Social Work and my experiences abroad in Kenya and India.

Last year I had the opportunity to travel to Bangalore, Indian and this past summer I was blessed to go on a trip to Kenya and see many different areas of Kenya. Both of these trips were mission trips, but I was fortunate enough to learn so much about the people and culture of these places.

A lot of my values in social work also coincide with my personal values that derive from my Christian faith. As a follower of the gospel, we believe in the redemption of mankind, the forgiveness of all, unconditional love for all, caring for the orphans, widowed, hungry, the mute, and oppressed. We do this because we ourselves have received mercy and grace for things that we do not deserve from a higher power and in turn want to give to others the way we have been given. These values come from what we learn about Jesus Christs life and what the Bible teaches us about God's heart for his people especially the oppressed.

Of course it is necessary to separate the two Faith and Social Work in situations when working with different populations of people, but nonetheless the values both bring to the table are the same -- the dignity and worth of each and every person.

Being at the University of Texas's School of Social Work I often wonder what exactly International Social Work is. Even as a senior the idea of social work is sometimes hard to explain to people since it is so broad and general. A lot of what we learn focuses on the micro aspect of social work and it's hard for me to see the praxis in International and Macro social work.

From my experiences and understanding of what social work looks like in these impoverished communities of the world, it seems SO SIMPLE. From my observations, you're practically a social worker if simply care for change and for others. I have seen so many beautiful people running orphanages, health clinics, homes for the destitute and free trade programs/ micro fiance programs that directly impact members of the community and people in need. Its run with people who have the heart to care about these people, who put everything they have on the line for their clients, and their heart and soul into every interaction they have with the people they work with.

I cannot help but wonder how these organizations continue to operate and manage themselves. Its such a different world of social work when I compare it to the bureaucracy, red tape, board of directors/admins etc that happen here in the U.S.. They both are doing such great things, but it fascinates me how these 1 person staffed tin shack agencies can operate and become a beacon of hope in a den of darkness that follows the face of poverty.

I thought I would post some pictures that my fellow teammates have taken on these two trips that share what I was fortunate to learn about from the people we made relationships with and got to know. ** I remember in the first weeks of class when Prof. Rhodes had us watch a Ted talk about 3 stories of people who were symbols of hope in their community. One was in Mathare Valley, Kenya. I was able to visit and learn about that very slum and some of the people who are working to allieviate poverty in that exact slum which was mind blowing to me.

South Austin Floods (Blog Post 9)

Observation: Me, Blair, and Aranda S. spoke on our experience volunteering with Dr. De Luca  at the Mendez Middle School Family Resource Center in Dove Springs 3 weeks after the flash flooding happened in our social justice class the other day.

Articles on the flash flood---
http://www.utexas.edu/ssw/featured/dove-springs-flood-relief/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/07/flash-flood-austin-residents-killed-displaced/3459181/
http://www.kvue.com/news/Dove-Spring-230283821.html
http://www.kvue.com/news/local/FEMA-to-survey-flood-damage-231065561.html

Many thoughts comes to mind when thinking about this flood.
1) A lot happens outside of the 40 acres that the majority of us students might not know about, especially if we are out of town students.


2) 1,200 homes were destroyed in the Halloween flooding that happened and some areas like Onion Creek rose to 11 feet of water in under 15 minutes and peaked 41 feet, sending walls of water into surrounding neighborhoods.

3) While volunteering at the makeshift donation center the Family Resource Center put wonderfully together I still could not wrap my mind around how that area was underwater just three weeks ago let alone what kind of damage was done to hundreds of families lives.

4) Much of the Dove Springs area consist of Hispanic residents that only speak Spanish. The area is a low income area and residents and the community expressed concerns related to those who had the fear of retribution because of the legal status as residents.

5) Austin declared the flood as a state of disaster, but funding has come very late (trouble finding sources, but a professor told us that evaluations are just now being made to see if it was a disaster level event.. rumors are saying that it is just under from officially being a federal disaster)

As I observe how effects of the  flooding that happened on Halloween in the city of Austin particularity Dove Springs and Onion Creek, I come to understand a bit more how disasters effect the entire community in ripple of ways.

Individuals and families are affected from their homes being damage or destroyed, personal belongings destroyed, injuries sustained, and psychological trauma endured from events like the flash flooding that happened in Austin.

Organizations, communities, churches, schools, law enforcement all attempt to come together and bridge resources to support the victims of these events. They are taxed with financial need, commitment, energy, volunteers, and time to help in the rebuilding process that comes after the strike of a disaster.

The local government and sometimes federal government or large organizations like the Red Cross are forced to respond to the needs of the community and consider the actions that need to be done to bring aid to the victims of these disasters.

It's crazy to see the effects that an event can have on a community and what that can do to cripple as well as bridge the community together. It is crucial that people come together in the face of adversity to heal the wounds of all that are effected. Furthermore these events make it unimaginable to think of the effects that Typoon Haiyan will have and has had on the Philippines thus far.  

Without the values of empathy, compassion, justice, and love its inevitable and guaranteed that we will fall when we forget to think about others and the needs of our brothers and sisters around the world.

Which Cap do I Put On? (Blog Post 8)

Observation: In my social justice class, we briefly talked about how it takes 4-5 years for us to get our degree and it takes only 4-5 years for people in social work to get burnt out and prepare to move elsewhere.

Lately I've been struggling with managing how to internalize being a social work student and being myself and  dealing with the problems I have for myself and within my relationships with friends and family. I've heard from professors and people that you want to separate your work from your personal life in order to keep being effective and not go crazy. How do you do that when you  begin to embody and integrate your values and beliefs of social work with your personal values?

We study so much about people, behavior, justice, and skills to have to be an effective staff member, but it only makes me realize how much needs to resolved in my own personal life. At least this major is teaching me how to apply theoretical perspectives to create interventions for myself right? I believe it is important as they have taught us already to understand our own biases and recognize our strengths and weaknesses to be effective in the field.

Part of me just feels wrong for wanting to separate my personal life and my social work life-- like a phony. Macro views are developed from the everyday interactions and conversations that take place in our lives so it frustrates me to let injust things slide as jokes or whatever they can be passed off by our peers. As someone who wants to do macro level work (still need more direction and focus however) I find it overwhelming trying to battle the micro problems that stem from the macro issues. It seems like so much work, time, energy, pain, and resources to solve. (Remember the Macro vs Micro  babies falling out of the sky and into the river analogy in class?)

A great plug for more self care ;) It takes much introspection and time to understand ourselves and our wonderful giftings. I cant help others if I myself am not healthy so its important for me to find that balance in my life.

What are yalls thoughts or experiences with battling the conflict of always feel the need to be a "social worker" while being yourself?