Social work a conduit to health in Vietnam
Social workers in
During this time, the
“The project has been very effective in training community workers, who will in turn provide better services to their communities” says Nguyen Thai Lan, a ULSA faculty member who helped the project develop a curriculum relevant to the education needs of Vietnamese students and to the people they go on to serve.
The challenges are significant: as a result of a post-war baby boom, 50 percent of
Today social workers who receive training at ULSA are tackling these problems through educationon social and health issues within the communities themselves.
Of particular concern, for instance, are the problems of opium and the trafficking of women along the northern border with
Also of great concern is the ongoing stigma attached to people with HIV/AIDS. Here, says ULSA’s Dr. Thai Lan, the school has also had its successes. “A trainee in a workshop for community workers in Hanam province said that before the workshop, she was very afraid of the HIV/AIDS patients; she thought they were dirty. But now she changed her mind and felt that they needed to be supported and respected”
So far, 80 students have completed ULSA’s 10-course social –work program, developed in conjunction with Memorial and taught in the Vietnamese language. Twelve ULSA students have completed master of social work degrees at
ULSA has expanded its library and also opened the Social Work Practice Centre on campus. This unique community resource provides counseling to students and staff, orphaned children and local teenagers on subjects ranging from living skills to sexual health.
The university’s reach has extended far into rural communities. Workshops designed for those unable to attend the program at the school in
The Vietnamese government has taken notice of ULSA’s impressive progress and has invited faculty to sit on a national committee to develop a training code and improve social-work education throughout the country. Ten other universities have sought advice on how to design their own similar programs, and the school is increasing its international collaborations with
Most satisfying, says Dr. Thai Lan, is knowing that the Vietnamese government now acknowledges that the need is great for more well-trained social workers, and that ULSA can work together over the long term with such bodies as the Ministry of Health and the National Committee on HIV/AIDS to improve the health of all Vietnamese, the disadvantaged in particular. “We’re pushed up the recognition of social work as a profession,” says Dr. Thai Lan.