“I Am Very Enthusiastic About Self Discovery And Healing”
Melissa Ranea | May 2, 2024
I am a mother to my beautiful and amazing daughter, Naledi. I am very enthusiastic about self discovery and healing, so much involved into understanding better regarding emotions and feelings, not because of my career of course but simply because I believe we are emotional beings and we should strive to learn, unlearn and relearn about what being a human means or is about. So that we not hard on ourselves, but we treat ourselves and those around us with kindness, compassion and a little bit of understanding. I value healthy relationships and human connections.
What inspired you to go into this career path?
Well to be honest, my mother recommended this career path for me because I had no idea what path to take, unfortunately my mother did not live long enough to see me pursuing this career, but I don’t regret making the decision to pursue it. I remember in matric all I had in mind was getting good grades and that’s exactly what I did and fortunately I got a bursary with understanding that there was a Social Work Scholarship available at the time and I took the opportunity. I am honestly glad I did, because this career opened my eyes to so many things that have to do with human behavior and human nature, it’s a beautiful career that focuses on the holistic human functioning.
What are some of the challenges you came across leading up to the completion of your course?
I am honestly grateful that I did not have any financial challenges at the time, however on my final year I almost failed my internship now that I think about it! I am actually realising that it was poor planning and not managing my time wisely. I also went through something personal that almost broke me emotionally and psychologically and that did not make things any easy for me but, I managed to pull through and completed the course. I am still working so hard to do better on my time management skills and planning, it all requires willpower and systematic discipline.
What is the biggest misconception about social workers?
Well, I doubt there is a biggest misconception proven scientifically thus reliable.
However my general views and that of my fellow colleagues based on the things we hear are as follows:
*That Social Work is charity work and it’s easy, anyone can do it
* That we give people food parcels and only work with social grants
*That Social Workers like being in control and cannot separate professional life and personal life.
*That we read minds and we’re able to solve any issue.
*That Social Workers, break families, separate children from their parents and that we strive to relieve people of their parental rights responsibilities.
* Social workers know everything, are miracle workers and we earn a lot.
*Another one is that Social Workers do the same thing psychologists do, diagnose people and conduct therapy and apparently read people’s minds.
People or communities think that social workers can fix every problem. In actual fact or reality “no” social workers are however, agents of change who use knowledge, skills and values to empower and support people to overcome their challenges and achieve their goals.
What do you love about being in this field? What has your highlight been thus far?
That’s a beautiful question…
Well this field allows you to challenge yourself as a person, professionally and personally, you get to learn the importance of treating people with dignity and respect, regardless of their race, socioeconomic status, background, sexual orientation or disability, you see a person for being a person, and you constantly have to remind yourself of how you want to be treated as a person, and of course that is with dignity and respect.
The highlight, has been that of being in a situation where I needed to learn to practice what I preach, that the tools I recommend for support and empowerment , it’s important that I also practice them in my daily life with understanding of course that we are all different and individuality should be taken into account at all times. The cases I encounter are constantly challenging me to learn more about myself and where I need improvement whether the outcomes are a success or not.
Are there any changes you would love to see happen regarding how your job should be done that could better the outcomes of peoples lives?
The changes I would honestly love to see, are the misconceptions that people have about social workers, for them to understand that our job in society is to provide support, empowerment and to connect them to relevant resources that will assist them in changing their own lives. More than anything it’s teamwork and everyone should play their part.
What is your biggest responsibility as a social worker?
Well the core function of a social worker is to promote social welfare and to utilise the knowledge, skills and values acquired from University upon completion of a 4 years Bachelor’s Degree to empower and support individuals from all backgrounds overcome challenges they are facing and also to advocate for social and economic justice for members of diverse communities.
What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in the field you’re in?
That this career requires one to be self aware, especially of their strengths and weaknesses, more than anything one should do psychometric testing or go for counselling just to learn certain things about themselves and be aware of where they are emotionally and psychologically. Mental check ups are also important just to be aware of where you could be mentally, sometimes one just needs to aware of some parts in them that need healing the most or attention the most, because working with people can have its triggers just as much as it can have its glimmers.
