全球实践项目的2023届学生将在全球19个国家工作. (Graphic by Rebecca McDade)
Though the spring semester is newly under way, 25 BC社会工作学院的学生已经很好地进入了他们教育的下一个阶段.
Working in locations as far away as the Philippines, Uganda, Cambodia, and Lebanon as well as in the United States, the BCSSW students are involved in a range of tasks, 有些人向性别暴力幸存者提供咨询和案例管理支持, or developing and implementing programming for newly arrived refugees. 其他国家正在制定精神健康和社会心理支持方案的监测和评估方案, 或电子游戏正规平台和倡导全球移民政策与和平理论与实践.
这25人组成了BCSSW全球实践项目17年历史上最大的队列, which prepares students for the fields of global social work, humanitarian aid, and international development. 全球实践侧重于解决超越国界并影响许多人口的复杂社会问题, blending social work praxis with the principles of human rights, human security, human development, and the promotion of sustainable solutions to social problems.
该项目的学生在最后一个学期进行实地实习, 在国内或国际上与BCSSW的一个政府间和非政府组织合作伙伴合作，如耶稣会难民服务中心, Catholic Relief Services, International Catholic Migration Commission, International Rescue Committee, Lighthouse Relief, Solid Minds, FXB India Suraksha, and PTI Cebu.
“希望提供更全面、更综合的服务，促使我选择了社会工作. BCSSW项目的独特之处在于，它使学生能够在各种环境下以全球视角工作，从而更好地支持个人和社区.”
BCSSW的管理人员表示，全球实践实习是学生专业能力的试验场, academic, and personal formation—an opportunity to not only put theory, instruction, and values into action under the tutelage of experienced professionals, 但要测试他们适应陌生环境和文化视角的能力.
“Students learn more about themselves than they might think,” said BCSSW Assistant Director for Field Education Lyndsey McMahan. “你如何与一个生活与你几乎没有可比性的人互动?? 你是怎么住在一个和你习惯的地方大不相同的地方的? 当日常生活的基本用品和必需品都没有了的时候，你是如何度过难关的? That’s when their problem-solving skills are needed.”
卑诗大学社会工作学院教授Thomas Crea，负责全球项目的副院长
“So much of this work you learn by doing, meeting challenges, and pivoting,” said Assistant Dean for Global Programs and Professor Thomas Crea. “它需要结合所谓的‘硬技能’，比如项目管理, evaluation, and budgeting—as well as ‘soft skills,’ like openness and cultural awareness. We open the door to these students, but when they step through that door, 这取决于他们使用我们教给他们的技能来解决他们所发现的问题.”
Rebecca Carney, a native of Harmony Township, N.J., who is in a field placement with JRS in Lebanon, 发现全球实践项目是她与非政府组织应对自然灾害工作的合理延伸, armed conflicts, or other emergencies in the U.S. and around the world.
Global Practice student Rebecca Carney
“I witnessed the breakdown of community supports and structures, 并对理解和解决受影响人群的日常压力源和心理健康需求感到着迷,” said Carney, 谁在JRS精神卫生和社会心理支持部门工作. “希望提供更全面和综合的服务，促使我从事社会工作. BCSSW项目的独特之处在于，它使学生能够在各种环境下以全球视角工作，从而更好地支持个人和社区. With a macro track in the Global Practice program, 我希望继续从事人道主义行动，为难民和其他流离失所者制定综合心理健康和社会心理支持方案.
“通过借鉴过去的经验和BC课程，实地实习为实现这一目标提供了一个非凡的机会，可以继续学习并为非政府组织提供切实的支持.”
BCSSW Assistant Director for Field Education Lyndsey McMahan
而一些像卡尼这样的学生则是带着人道主义或发展工作的经验来到全球实践项目的, the field placement is nonetheless a significant part of their training, noted Crea and McMahan. 这项任务不太涉及直接管理援助——为难民提供食品或医疗服务, for example—than it is evaluating, adjusting, 或者制定方案或政策，提供更长期和更全面的解决方案，以解决影响贫困人口的问题.
At the same time, they added, 全球实践项目强调需要保持开放的心态，超越传统的以西方为基础的观点和方法.
“除非我们花时间去观察和倾听，否则我们永远不会知道我们需要了解的文化或社区。,” said McMahan. “So, 我们强调需要尊重，而不是对需要什么和如何解决问题做出宽泛的假设.”
Global Practice student Jacob Furey-Rosan
Jacob Furey-Rosan, 谁在乌干达接受JRS精神卫生和社会心理支持的实地实习, said his first few days were enlightening and, in some respects, challenged his preconceptions.
“I can say confidently that Uganda is welcoming to refugees, 并收容了近150万逃离南苏丹等非洲邻国暴力和不稳定局势的难民, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, among others. That makes Uganda one of the top refugee-hosting countries in the world. Here, 与其他东道国相比，他们拥有更大的行动自由和合法的工作和学习能力.”
Global Practice student Vincent Sweeney
“The placement in Romania gives me the skills I’m looking for, and to me that’s more important than location,” said Vincent Sweeney, in an interview a couple of weeks before leaving the U.S. for his JRS placement in Bucharest. “我倾向于在危机的情况下茁壮成长，这对我来说是个很好的环境. Even if the war in Ukraine were to end tomorrow, there are many complex issues here that need to be addressed.”
Refugees face many daunting challenges, note the Global Practice students, 其中之一就是人们认为他们没有能力过任何正常的生活. This view, say the students, ignores the physical and mental trauma refugees endure, and discounts the resilience and strength of character they possess.
这种假设强化了权力失衡，剥夺了难民的任何机构，削弱了个人和社区的复原力,” said Carney. “In the Global Practice program, we discussed how displaced persons can go through distressing events, but with mental health and psychosocial support, basic needs, and other services, they can make decisions to promote their own well-being and thrive. As a social worker in a humanitarian space, 我一直有意识地以谦逊的态度来抵制这种说法, awareness, and intention.”
“[难民]已经证明自己有能力逃离他们逃离的危险, across mountains, deserts, oceans, hostile cities, and dangerous borders,” said Furey-Rosan. “如果他们完全无助，缺乏技能或天赋，他们怎么能成功呢?? 然而，成功仍然是有代价的，没有人能独自做到这一点. Now, in a new, strange, and in some cases unwelcoming country, they will need help to adjust, to recover from the difficulties and adversity they faced, and learn new skills to match their new home.”
Sean Smith | University Communications | January 2023