Social work in Cuba is so different from what I recall during my 31 years with Los Angeles County. Cuba has so many social challenges and contradictions, it's good to see that they are being addressed via their newly-developing social work system. We were never supposed to help people paint their houses, either. Translated for CubaNews from Tribuna, the Havana city weekly newspaper by one of our readers. In the aftermath of the hurricanes which have come, these social workers will be more appreciated than ever as Cubans return to their homes (those still standing) and repair damaged ones.   [Walter Lippmann, Sept. 21, 2004]
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TRIBUNA
April 9, 2004

The country can count on more
than 21,000 social workers

The work of the "doctors of the soul" is recognized
Curriculum changes will be put in place
By Silvia Barthelemy

http://www.tribuna.islagrande.cu/sociales/enterese/reconocen.htm 

Social workers’ positive impact in the most vulnerable sectors of the society, and the validity of this Program of the Revolution initiated in September 2000, were recently verified by an investigation made by the Youth Training Center, which also confirmed the social recognition earned by the "doctors of the soul".  

According to Enrique Gómez Cabeza, a member of the National Bureau of the UJC, the country today has more than 21,000 social workers. In an interchange with provincial and municipal secretaries of that organization, Gómez emphasized that the program has been consolidated and stressed that almost 50% of the social workers express their desire to continue social work beyond their initial commitment.

He also outlined some potential impediments to the successful development of the mission, mentioning examples such as the bureaucratization of work methods and the low receptivity of local institutions that are not always supportive in the management of young people.

A fundamental part of social work, he said, is to go block by block seeking all who require aid, to befriend people and their families who need support, to gain their confidence, know how to orient and to advise.

As for the impending semester in the four training schools of this new force that the country counts upon today, Gomez said that it will be qualitatively superior, because a new curriculum with important modifications will be put into practice which takes into account the educational experiences of previous courses.

The students, he explained, will receive a curriculum of integrated subjects (Psychology, Sociology, Social Communication) that will concentrate on preparing young people to treat the individual, the family and the society. Greater integration with the social work taking place in the barrios and the improvement of investigative work is also anticipated.

To date, the country can count on more than 21,000 social workers who work in 1,500 Popular Councils. For them there will be new missions in September, the most outstanding of which is an integral study of the infant population. At the same time, they will continue systematically treating the social problems that affect the vulnerable sectors, young drop-outs and ex-inmates, in order to reintegrate them into society.

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