– a prerequisite for degree in social work
FINAL YEAR students at the University of Guyana reading for a degree in Social Work recently conducted 150 hours of field work within the university’s community as a prerequisite for the ‘Professional Development II’ course, otherwise known as DSW 320.
Forming themselves into groups of 10 with six members each, the students were mandated by their lecturer, Ms. Joy Wilson, to facilitate workshop sessions comprising groups of men, women, boys, girls or workers in varying activities.
The sessions were aimed at empowering participants with information on responding to the issue of Domestic Violence, which continues to plague the society.
Domestic Violence is defined as any act or threat of physical, verbal, sexual, emotional or financial abuse committed by one member of a family or household against another.
The Domestic Violence Act (1996) is geared to protect women, children and men from being abused, and is the instrument which lays the basis for action by government agencies and institutions.
The project at reference saw each group of final-year students selecting a prescribed theme, such as ‘Men in Family Relationships’; ‘Empowering Single Mothers’; ‘ Girls to Women Empowerment’ and ‘Boys to Men Empowerment Transition’  with a target group to coincide with the selected theme that was identified.
The projects sought to enhance the overall lives of the target groups through advocacy and education, as well as to create an awareness of existing support systems available throughout Guyana which can address the issue of Domestic Violence.
With this in mind, participants were tasked with arriving at solutions to better respond to the situation demonstrated without the perpetrator being abusive.
Participants also benefitted from hands-on interaction with both male and female victims of Domestic Abuse, who, through sheer willpower, have managed to become separated from their abusers. These facilitators/victims have now become involved in the fight against Domestic Violence.
The sessions also included activities relating to Anger Management, Building of Self-esteem, Setting of Goals, Conflict Resolution, Assertiveness Training and Projecting a Vision for the Future as a another means of educating the participants.
There were exposed too to demonstrations of Self-Defense Mechanisms, all aimed at introducing them to simple martial arts techniques that could assist the victims, or buy them time, to get clear of the abuser.
A pictorial exhibition depicting some consequences of Domestic Violence and relevant to cases that occurred in 2007 as well as this year – some 13 to date — was showcased as a means of heightening the participants’ awareness.
The hosting of a ‘Walk-a-Ton’, a ‘Day of Testing’ for hypertension and diabetes and facilitating a Counselling Site, aimed at promoting wholesome living for the target community, other citizens and the wider society, were other activities undertaken by the UG Final Year Social Work Degree students.