• Honoring 41 individuals and organizations with many contributions to social work
• Honoring 30 outstanding individuals in social work

The staff at the Provincial Social Protection Center shoulder many heavy tasks and responsibilities. They take care of orphans, disabled children, children in difficult circumstances, lonely elderly people with no place to rely on, these are the unfortunate and vulnerable people in society. It cannot be done carelessly or for show, but each person always considers these as their relatives, considers the children as their own children, plays the role of mother, aunt, the goal is to help the children grow up and become good citizens for society. As for the elderly, the staff here plays the role of children, grandchildren taking care of mothers, grandparents, taking their joy as their own joy to serve.

The staff here start their work at 4am and end time depending on the work and the condition of the people needing care. Not only do they feed each spoonful of rice, assist with personal hygiene, bathing... they also take on the role of "psychological experts", chatting and listening to stories, random confidences, and incomplete memories. Thus, they are caught up in the relentless work, working hard, but they never give up or complain.

Social workers take turns caring for the elderly.

Mr. Duong Van An, an employee at the Provincial Social Protection Center, has been working for 5 years but has never seen a smile disappear from his lips. Because he simply thinks that being happy will transmit positive energy to those around him. Mr. An confided: “The elderly here suffer from many chronic diseases of the elderly, and have difficulty urinating. As for the children, some are born with disabilities and cannot take care of themselves. They all need me as well as my brothers. I see their circumstances and I love them, and taking care of them every day invisibly creates a special connection. At the center, there is also a special group of people, which are war invalids, wives and children of martyrs, heroic Vietnamese mothers... they have devoted and sacrificed for the independence and freedom of the country. These are the people we must be grateful to, and practice the morality of drinking water and remembering its source."

Once an orphan who was protected by the Center, when she grew up, Nguyen Kieu My tried hard to study and returned to the place that raised her. She is currently an employee at the Provincial Social Protection Center. Ms. My confided: “The work process encountered many difficulties, but thanks to the solidarity of the brothers and sisters here, I have never felt sad or discouraged. We understand that the elderly have many chronic diseases, so their psychology and physiology change erratically, and children with severe disabilities also have many problems. Eating, resting, hygiene... must follow a schedule, requiring social workers to have care skills, to understand the psychology of the subjects in order to connect." According to her, working here requires training and experience, and there must be connections between colleagues to support each other.

Besides the elderly, disabled children are also cared for at the center.

The Provincial Social Protection Center is a public service unit funded by the State. Employees here are paid according to regulations, in addition to special allowances according to the resolution issued by the Provincial People's Council to encourage and motivate them to complete their tasks well. In addition to policies and regimes supported by the Party and the State, the Center's leaders also pay great attention to their employees. Mr. Nguyen Van Tan, Deputy Director of the Provincial Social Protection Center, said: "We have built policies, such as improving the quality of meals for employees, giving bonuses on holidays and Tet... In addition, we have also built regulations on leave and bonuses so that employees can arrange family work and work with peace of mind."

Regarding the successor force, Mr. Tan explained: “We mainly train ourselves. The brothers here have just finished high school, we create conditions for them to work and study at university in Social Work in Dong Thap, Ho Chi Minh City... It is very hard for them, both studying and working, some families still try to improve their skills to be on the payroll. Vocational training is difficult, retaining people is even more difficult, in reality, many people cannot bear the pressure and have to give up. This is also a painful problem but it is understandable, because it is difficult for us to take care of our family members, let alone people in special circumstances like that.”

In addition to the provincial Social Protection Center, social assistance facilities in the province, such as drug rehabilitation and mental health facilities, as well as related units, have arranged staff for social work, because the rate of people in difficult circumstances is constantly increasing. Compared to the amount of work and pressure increasing every day, the current social work team is too thin. The goal of Ca Mau province by 2030 is to promote social work in all sectors and levels in accordance with the conditions of socio-economic development in each stage. Therefore, it is necessary to create a stronger human resource, not only in terms of professional quality but also in terms of dedication to this seemingly simple but very difficult job./.

Lam Khanh

Source: https://baocamau.vn/tham-lang-nghe-cong-tac-xa-hoi-a38349.html