Social workers honoured by province

Various speakers took the opportunity to encourage social workers to continue helping the community, even if they find themselves in dire situations.

The message was part of a World Social Workers Day celebration hosted by the Gauteng Department of Social Development at Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre on March 22.

The Gauteng Social Development Head, Thembeni Mhlongo, one of the guest speakers, called social workers heroes.

“Social workers are my everyday heroes because they play vital roles in our communities. They must always be strong, and they are pillars of the community.

“We are approaching times when social workers must be brave and come out of their comfort zones to help people from different walks of life.

“The problems they face today differ from those they dealt with in the past because we live in diverse communities. Every person must receive equal assistance,” Mhlongo said.

Another guest speaker, faculty head of Social Work and Community Development at the South African College of

Applied Psychology, Dr Poppy Masinga, said social workers are worthy of respect and love.

“Their main responsibility is proving their critics wrong by doing their jobs to the best of their abilities. We know social workers are sometimes targeted. I believe social workers are changers in their community and they need to take up that responsibility with pride.

“We were trained to help people and that’s exactly what we need to do. We must ensure that people who work with us trust us,” expressed Masinga.

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