The Channel 46
Charity begins at home – we all have come across this axiom throughout our childhood and adult life. If everyone practised this simple teaching at any point in their lifetime, the world would have seen lesser numbers of inequalities, hunger crises, elder abuse, lack of education, and other social issues. Social work has developed into what it is today because of its compassionate and autonomous principles. Its core values are purely based on reverence towards equality, dignity and worth of every individual, irrespective of various social constructs and economic divide. Social work recognizes and addresses the obstructions in accessing resources by people, socio-economic inequalities and various kinds of prejudices that continue to exist in modern societies. It focuses on problem-solving and bringing about positive change.
Although a full-fledged profession today, social work does not necessarily fit in the paradigms of a conventional industrial sector. In most parts of the world, social work is still considered an ‘orientation’, and ideally, an activity that people engage in, selflessly. Indian culture itself has always embraced the value of ‘daan’, and associated it with gaining ‘good karma’ in return. In today’s age and time, social work is neither confined to a ‘degree’ nor is solely an ‘orientation’ in India. People from different professions and educational backgrounds are now working full-time in NGOs, the functional unit of the social sector, because of its ever-expanding nature, and for the goodwill which is associated with it. In fact, the social sector today is one of the highest employment generating sectors in India.
The permeable nature of the social sector has only expanded its scope and visibility. This is even more evident during the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. The unprecedented virus has caused chaos around the world affecting millions of lives, the worst hit being the destitute and underprivileged. With righteous glorification and portrayal of the ‘frontline warriors’ in the national media, a large number of people were stimulated by the idea to help the ones in need, in one way or the other.
The pandemic did change the way general people perceived social workers and at large, the whole sector. The stereotypical image that only senior citizens and retired personnel engage in charitable work completely shattered into bits and pieces, when an undeniable uproar of the youth come forward to help the ones in need, across the length and breadth of the country.
As each coin has a flip side, the social media endorsed wave rose with prominence, but ultimately, died down; which is very customary to social media trends. This case has established the fact that though the permeable membrane of social work has amplified its presence and opened doors for people to join forces, it has also raised serious questions about its authenticity as a profession. Social work remains a dynamic phenomenon in India. While its absorptive nature has always been scrutinized, social work cannot be completely concreted either. Being an amalgamation of a selfless activity and a full-time profession, there are absolutely no gatekeepers to this non-conventional sector.
At the end of the day, social work is what one makes of it. How many lives can one impact with their actions, how much awareness can they spread on social issues about injustice, inequality, and inaccessibility of resources?
The Channel 46