Over 60 social workers and social work students gathered together to mark the day, which featured insights from India, Norway, Spain and Slovenia. It was an opportunity for social workers to take a breather from their everyday heavy workloads and see social work from another perspective, and even be reminded of why they joined the profession.

There were three presentations during the morning event. A Queen’s University Belfast School of Social Work staff and student delegation talked about their exchange programme with the Karve Institute, Penai, India. It was good to see the enthusiasm of the social work students and how practitioners felt they could learn from being part of an international profession - despite the many differences between the two countries involved.

Via the exchange programme with Queen’s, Paula McFadden, a NIASW Committee member, was able to attend an International Conference in India as a practitioner representative. NIASW hopes to be involved in the future development of  a student/practitioner exchange programme along with academics and other social work stakeholders.  

Jan Storo, Svein Fuglestad and Elisabeth Gronning from Oslo Akershus, University College of Applied Sciences, offered a fascinating presentation on ‘The Transition from the known to the unknown’. They explored how children’s perceptions and experiences of small and large transitions can be helped by playing with puppets and lullabies. Observers were all engrossed in a puppet work demonstration and soothed by lullabies.

The final event of our World Social Work Day celebration was the Northern Ireland launch of a DVD, ‘International Messages on Service User and Carer Involvement”.   Led by Joe Duffy, Lecturer in Social Work at Queen’s University, Belfast, this proved a very moving and challenging 20 minute film. Social Work Students from Spain, Slovenia and Northern Ireland each asked the same six questions to service users and carers about important aspects of social work knowledge, skills and values.

It was interesting to note that no matter which country they were from, the same messages came across. For example, social workers need to show empathy, respect, be good listeners and understand what is being said and, surprisingly, an expectation that social workers are politically involved, something that NIASW would fully support and promote. The DVD will be available on our website in mid-April after it has been officially launched in all three countries – a must see for both students and practitioners.

When organising an event for social workers it is always good to know that it has been enjoyed and that, hopefully, social workers have either learnt something new or their practice has been challenged. As such it was good to read feedback suggesting both were the case.

Practitioners voiced their frustration at policies being pursued by Westminster during the Expo event, held to coincide with World Social Work.

They claimed it was vital that ways were found to inform the public how cuts are affecting people who already face social and economic exclusion.

Tim Parkinson, Development Officer with the Scottish Association of Social Work, said: “The welfare reforms are like a domino effect and I don’t think policy makers have any idea of their implications.

“As an Association, we are using the connections we have to say you need to do something to mitigate these effects on social work practice.”

Mr Parkinson highlighted areas of concern in the Welfare Reform Bill such as the impact to the criminal justice system of the so-called “bedroom tax”, which the Scottish Government has called to be scrapped.

“If you think about ending the cycle of reoffending, the vast majority of offenders are young, single men when they come out of prison. Without community care grants and the ability to work straight away and without a single-bedroom flat available, they stand no chance of doing anything to get back into society.”

Indications from housing associations piloting monthly direct payments to social housing tenants, rather than weekly or fortnightly payments to landlords, also suggests more people will be forced into financial crisis, said Mr Parkinson.

“People are not able to learn to manage because they are having their rent paid directly into their bank account and the bank is saying ‘we need this payment because we are owed money’, so they don’t have the opportunity to keep it for their rent.

“Social workers are going to spend so much more of their time doing things like welfare and trying to find emergency hostels rather than doing the kind of practice they trained for.”

One social worker labelled welfare reforms an attempt to demonise people on benefits: “The welfare cuts are not about cost. It is a deliberate attempt to stigmatise vulnerable people. I was brought up in a council house and I never felt stigmatised. But the term social housing is stigmatised now and it shouldn’t be.”

Another social worker added: “There is some public support for welfare reform, largely because people don’t understand what the impact will be. The headlines in some sections of the media focus on families getting £50,000, but those families are absolutely minimal.”

Speaking at the SASW Awards in Edinburgh on World Social Work Day yesterday, she warned there was a lot of “heartache” ahead.

She claimed an independent Scotland freed from Westminster’s policies would produce a system that was “more equitable and fairer”.

Asked what message she had for Mr Cameron, Scotland’s Minister for Children and Young People said: “I would urge him to rethink what they are doing and to engage with the Scottish Government. We need to work hard to ensure we can support the Scottish people the best way we can. We are trying to mitigate against the worst affects of welfare reform and make sure people have access to the services they need.

“Everyone agrees there is a need to reform welfare to make sure it is clear and consistent and is doing what it needs to do. But I don’t think the measures the Westminster Government is taking are creating that fairer system.

“We know there is a lot of potential heartache over the welfare reforms. From my point of view and the Scottish Government’s point of view, we would like to have control of our welfare and benefits and taxation because we believe we can produce a system that is more equitable and fairer.”

Ms Campbell singled out changes to housing benefit for particular criticism: “I urge the Westminster Government to understand the impact welfare reform will have on the most vulnerable. One of the biggest causes of concern is the bedroom tax. That will cause a lot of upset to people across Scotland.”

The Scottish Local Government Forum Against Poverty today estimated as many as 95,000 tenants in Scotland could be affected by planned changes to housing benefit criteria designed to tackle under occupancy.

Hundreds of invited guests gathered at the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh to recognise the skills and professionalism of frontline practitioners nominated in three categories – student of the year, residential care worker of the year and social worker of the year.

The event was also attended by Scotland’s Minister for Children and Young People Aileen Campbell; Peter MacLeod, Vice President of the Association of Directors of Social Work and director of social work in Renfrewshire and Graeme Rizza, SASW’s Scottish Convenor.

The social worker of the year award was presented to James Berry, a social worker with Fife Council’s Older People’s Service, nominated by a carer who praised his “positive, sympathetic and supportive nature” helping them cope with their elderly father’s health issues.

After receiving the award, he said: “I am very grateful to the carer who nominated me. I have been in social work 28 years and it is just incredible hat someone would do that.

“It is important for social work to be recognised in this way. It is good to let the public see what we are doing and hopefully it encourages people to come forward for social work services when they maybe a bit hesitant to do so.”

Highly commended in the category was Victoria Berry, who works for North Lanarkshire Council, a social worker of only three years who impressed with her ability to handle highly complex cases.

Winner in the residential care category was Ruth McDonald, residential care worker with the Aberlour Family Support Service in Glasgow, recognised for her work helping people suffering substance misuse.

Karen Wood was highly commended in the category for her “sensitivity, humour, fun and warmth” working with children with severe and multiple disabilities in a respite care unit in Inverness for Highland Council.

The student of the year award went to Clare Edmondson, described as a “skilful communicator” who is not satisfied by “good enough” working with people with complex health and social are needs for Highland Council.

Allyson Johnston, an Open University student working with Kaleidescope, a charity for people experiencing mental illness, in Dumfries & Galloway, was highly commended in the category for her professionalism and sensitivity.

Ruth Stark, Manager of the Scottish Association of Social Work, said: “The judges had an extremely difficult task. We would have wanted to give everyone an award but we could only have three winners.

“The richness of the praise we have heard about good practice will not be lost. It is evidence we will take to people like the children’s minister and tell them what social workers do and what they do well and the impact it has on the community. We will use all this information to make people understand what social work does to contribute to the richness of Scottish society.”

Scotland’s Minister for Children and Young People Aileen Campbell said: “As a minister, I visit many services and meet with people in many different contexts. And I am regularly and continually inspired by the dedication, compassion, drive, resilience and creativity demonstrated by those who work in social services. 

“Social work is truly life changing work. And it is also one of the most demanding and complex tasks which we as a society ask any group of people to do on our behalf. This ceremony each year  provides a particularly positive and uplifting way to  hear about the work done by you and your  colleagues."

Launched at the Northern Ireland Association of Social Workers’ World Social Work Day event on 19 March, the film showed student practitioners in each country asking the same six questions of service users. Responding to a question about the most important qualities a social worker needs to have, a Spanish service user told the student: “Not to feel judged, not being judged. I would also need to be spoken to with words I can understand.”

A second Spanish woman service user said: Being polite – taking you into the office and not seeing you in the hallway or just on the phone.”

Introduced by Joe Duffy, Lecturer in Social Work at Queen’s University, Belfast, the film featured a range of service users, including a young disabled man in Slovenia who described what he wanted from social workers: “That they accept us like we are, that they trust us and we trust them.”

An older man in Northern Ireland with mental health issues said: “If they’re there for half an hour with me, spend it with me – don’t have mobile phones going off or have to rush off to another job.”

The film will be published on BASW’s/NIASW’s website on 14 April after receiving initial launches in each of the three countries involved in the DVD’s production.

Puppets and lullabies

The NIASW World Social Work Day event also featured a demonstration of the therapeutic effects of puppets and lullabies. The presentation by Norwegian social workers from Oslo Akershus, University College of Applied Sciences, proved a notable hit. 

The team, Jan Storo, Svein Fuglestad and Elisabeth Gronning, demonstrated how common life issues, such as establishing a bedtime routine, settling in to a new school or, less commonly, dealing with reception into foster care or bereavement can be aided by the use of puppets and lullabies. Using the puppet performances and lullaby songs the group explored how the two approaches can help in managing children’s perceptions and experiences of small and large transitions.

The event also featured a presentation by staff and students from Queen’s University Belfast, following their exchange visit to Pune in India, where they gained insight into markedly different social and professional issues than they are used to in Northern Ireland. See article in the March issue of PSW for more insight into their visit.

Find out far more about WSWD here
 

The event, held in partnership with BASW and the Joint University Council Social Work Education Committee (JUCSWEC) and the Social Work and Health Inequalities Network (SWHIN) was a celebration of a joint commitment to the Global Agenda and the importance of World Social Work Day’s theme of “Promoting social and economic equalities”.

Delegates from across the social work sector gathered to hear a key note address from Professor Richard Wilkinson, co-author of “The Spirit Level”, which argues that rather than focusing on economic growth to improve society, we should instead focus on addressing inequality.

In her opening speech, BASW Interim Chief Executive Bridget Robb gave a picture of social workers across the world “ground down by being expected to keep vulnerable people safe where there are inadequate systems to do so”, Ms Robb added, "It is no answer to pretend that throwing money at problems will solve them – we are not that naive. But the speed of shutting services and reducing benefits is having a major impact on social workers and the individuals and communities they serve."

“We are challenged to find new ways of working and new ways of living together. In celebrating social work across the world today, the Global Agenda invites us to develop a road map in each country to explore how we can do this together.”

Kate Karban, Joint Convenor of SWHIN said that young and old alike faced the ill effects of inequality, from examples such as children in areas of deprivation having worse outcomes than their peers in wealthier areas of the country, to older people cutting down on social events to save money, which in turn led to loneliness and depression.

Ms Karban made reference to research by Professor Sir Michael Marmot, 'Fair Society Healthy Lives', which demonstrated that social isolation and loneliness are associated with a 50% increased risk of heart disease. “Social work can make a difference, by contributing to reducing social, economic and health inequalities across the life span”, Ms Karban said, “In England over five million adults and children have contact with social work and social care services. Many of those people are already experiencing poor physical and mental health”.

“Social work has changed over the years and will continue to change, however, increasing levels of poverty and inequality, coupled with welfare benefit changes and increasing privatisation of services, means that while retaining a very important emphasis on building relationships with service users, we must also seek to strengthen an approach based on working with groups and communities to challenge some of these changes that are having such impact on communities.”

Next speaker Hilary Tompsett, Chair of JUCSWEC, joined Ms Karban in praising the passion and commitment to social work being shown by social work students, described as “the next generation of social workers”.

Ms Tompsett expressed her support for the Global Agenda, describing it as “seeking to provide a vision and inspirational framework for social workers to develop their professional practice and their professional voice.”

She praised the briefing paper to accompany the event as providing a strong affirmation of “the principles of choice, rights, respect and dignity for all service users and care-givers, young and old and the recognition of the central importance of addressing social, economic and health inequalities in the social work role”.

Ms Tompsett summarised the steps that social workers could take to reduce inequality into three points; raising awareness about inequality, taking positive action and sharing examples of good practice. She wanted to bring the Global Agenda to the attention of the public as well as practitioners and social work students.

“Social work educators are working hard to educate our future social workers about the social and political determinants of health and wellbeing in order to address these various inequalities. There is much on-going work and much to do, as we explore creative ways of working with limited resources.”

Ms Tompsett also stressed the importance of hearing the service user voice, referencing research from Fran Branfield and Peter Beresford, ‘A Better life: Alternative approaches from a service user perspective”.

This was a theme echoed by Professor Richard Wilkinson, who echoed BASW’s call for social workers to be advocates for the poor and for whistle blowers to be protected.

He began by saying that social workers would already know the messages that he wants to put out, saying he ‘envied' social workers for the opportunity they had to witness the reality behind the figures he interrogates at his desk.

Professor Wilson said his book, ‘The Spirit Level’, had been described as “the theory of everything” as it touched on so many different indicators such as teenage pregnancy, violence, obesity, imprisonment and addiction. Professor Wilkinson’s research suggests that when you reduce inequality you reduce the incidence of these problems. In unequal societies, social dominance and being rich becomes more important. “We say of family members, who gets rich, ‘he’s done very well’, this then becomes the definition of what success means, and in turn these attitudes promote the belief that people at the bottom of society are there because they’re hopeless", he added.

Professor Wilson then showed a series of graphs demonstrating how on almost every index of quality of life, or deprivation, there is a gradient showing a strong correlation between a country's level of economic inequality and its social outcomes. Almost always, Japan and the Scandinavian countries are at the favourable "low" end, and almost always, the UK, the US and Portugal are at the unfavourable "high" end, with Canada, Australasia and continental European countries in between.

A more equal society where people do not feel stigmatised by their social status will lead to a reduction of such social problems, and this can only happen if people feel more valued.

“Advocacy is so important, social workers are a major element of that”, Professor Wilson continued, referring to the pernicious effect of government propaganda such as people going to work and feeling resentful about their neighbours’ curtains still being closed, when in reality having no job leads to feelings of worthlessness, and clinical depression. “We should not underestimate the importance of speaking out”, he concluded.

David Jones, International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) Immediate Past President and Global Agenda Coordinator gave the international context of the day, reminding the audience that events were taking place all over the world, including Jordan, Sarajevo and Ghana, “the exciting thing about World Social Work Day is it started in Europe, but now it is has taken on its own life and belongs to the world."

He explained how social work had a crucial role to play in current discussions around austerity and that the IFSW had taken a message to the EU that there is a need for economic regulation which reflects reality and eradicates poverty, and social work must play a part in that.

Mr Jones said that IFSW conferences around the world provided not just a chance for a flow of ideas, they will make sure that the social work message gets through to leaders. "World leaders know that inequality causes conflict. Equally, because climate change and poverty reduction go hand in hand,  because the sort of world we live in and the environment we create is important for all of us, that means the UN Millenium Goals' successor must be about the sort of world we want to live in, and that is why it is so importance that we have a voice for social work that is clear and unified."

Stressing the importance of social work to attempt to engage with government, Mr Jones thanked former children and families minister Tim Loughton MP for attending the event, 'it's not the party they belong to but their sense of commitment to social work that makes the difference”, he said.

View a version of Professor Wilkinson’s speech here

Linda de Chenu
World Social Work Day on the 19 March will serve as a call to action for social workers to push forward the commitments of the new Global Agenda for Social Work (GA), in turn aimed at creating a fairer world.

The paradigm of the Global Agenda for Social Work asserts that the context in which social work is practised is deeply influenced by globalisation, particularly the political form of globalisation which has seen a spread of neo-liberal policies through the introduction of market forces. Trends can also be observed towards privatisation and the ‘small state’, resulting in reduced expenditure on welfare. In the West, economic globalisation can be linked to the current recession, the erosion of working conditions and welfare provisions, as well as the growth and promotion of migration, with migrants experiencing inequalities and discrimination.

In response to this, the GA aims to develop a collective transnational voice for social workers. The final Global Agenda, presented to the UN on World Social Work Day last year, consists of four commitments for social development from 2012-2016:

• Promoting social and economic equalities
• Promoting dignity and worth of peoples
• Working toward environmental sustainability
• Strengthening recognition of the importance of human relationships

On World Social Work Day 2013, the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), the International Association of Social Work Educators (IASSW) and the International Council of Social Welfare (ICSW) are calling on social workers throughout the world to debate and support the first aspect of the GA – the promotion of social and economic equalities.

A  Global Agenda Action Group was initiated in 2012 between BASW, the Social Work Education International Committee of the Joint University Council Social Work Education Committee (JUCSWEC) and the Social Work and Health Inequalities Network (SWHIN). The latter, SWHIN, has emphasised the role of social work in identifying and assessing the needs of children; the need to combat child poverty and the importance of monitoring the effects of poverty on child well-being. SWHIN also argues that social workers have a vital role to play in promoting the well-being and rights of older people.

The Global Agenda Action Group will visit the Westminster Parliament on World Social Work Day to present the First Commitment of The Global Agenda. Richard Wilkinson is the keynote speaker at the BASW/JUCSWEC parliamentary event on World Social Work Day. In The Impact of Inequality, Mr Wilkinson argues that inequality leads to greater status differences. He maintains poverty and inequality result in deteriorating relationships, less trust between social groups and more violence and ill-health. Wilkinson and Kate Pickett's influential book, The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone, gives a timely analysis of how countries with larger inequalities, such as the UK, generate the worst measure of child well-being and poor outcomes for health, social problems and mental illness.

In the UK, recent examples point to deepening inequalities in health, welfare provision and income. The Kings Fund’s report How Healthy Are We? looks at the way inequalities in income determine inequalities in health, with the poorest groups in the UK consistently experiencing the worst health outcomes. It also shows how child poverty influences lifetime health. The report shows how recent public health campaigns to develop healthy lifestyles have had the least influence in the poorest groups.

The London School of Economic’s Mental Health Policy Group argues there is a glaring case of health inequality within the NHS, as although mental illness accounts for 23% of the total burden of disease, it receives only 13% of NHS expenditure. Dr Mark Porter, the British Medical Association’s recently appointed Chair of Council, has warned there is a growing rationing of health services within the NHS to save money. He also said the shrinking of the NHS’s “offer” to the public is being hastened by the coalition’s health reforms, creeping privatisation of services and the system's need to save £20 billion by 2015.

Following the Equalities Act (2010), the Centre for Policy on Ageing has collated data indicating substantial ageism and Age Discrimination in primary, community and mental health services.

There is evidence that children are also suffering under current policies. The Children and Family Court Advisory & Support Service (Cafcass) dealt with a record number of care applications in 2012, an 8.3% increase on the same period in 2011. Cafcass’ Chief Executive Athony Douglas associated this rise with the effects of public sector cuts and benefit changes. The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) is currently engaged in a campaign to ensure that income is a key measure of child poverty in the face of moves by the Coalition Government to remove parental income as a measure of child poverty.

Many housing associations have warned that social housing tenants will face poverty from unfair welfare changes as tenants will have their housing benefit cut by £40 a room and by £70 if they have two spare rooms, even though housing associations have a dearth of one bedroom properties for tenants.

Research by Catherine Needham, Senior Lecturer at Birmingham University’s School of Social Policy, found 57% of workers in social care in England and Wales reporting day centre closures, something which hits elderly people and their carers the hardest, followed by people with learning and physical disabilities.

All these examples indicate a worsening situation in the UK for the achievement of social and economic equalities.

At an international level, the rights of every person on the planet to health, education, shelter and security were pledged in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the UN Millennium Declaration (2002).

Article 25 of the UDHR states: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection” (1948)

At a regional European level these rights are promoted through the Council of Europe Social Charter (1997) and the European Convention on Human Rights. The EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights was enforced with the signing of the Lisbon Treaty, though the UK opted out of Title 4, which included access to health care, social and housing assistance.

Section 14 of the Council of Europe Social Charter states that people have the right to access social services (including social work) support. As the UK is a member of the Council of Europe and a signatory, the social work profession should be advocating to promote this right, especially in the context of the current crisis.

The IFSW has been lobbying the EU and member states to maintain social work and social services during the economic crisis and is speaking out against austerity.

Internationally, at the World Conference of Social Work in Stockholm 2012, Thomas Hammarberg, the Immediate Past Commissioner for Human Rights, Council of Europe, argued social workers are crucial in the struggle for rights and that where society is more equal, then rights are better protected.

Michael Marmot, Chair of the Commission of Social Determinants of Health at the World Health Organisation, argued we need a social movement against the injustices that damage health. Mr Marmot said an avoidable, but systematic difference in health exists between social groups and that health outcomes follow a social gradient over the life cycle.

He also stressed that in the UK, the Coalition Government’s agenda will increase child poverty and that welfare policies can make a difference so that inequalities are not inevitable and can be prevented.

According to Professor Walter Lorenz, Rector at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, the “social sphere” in Europe is under threat as welfare states are being dismantled following the removal of trade barriers allowing the privatisation of public services. Mr Lorenz referred to the increased risks to the public in the UK of privatised services and identified a new welfare world in which public services are about “control” and the private sphere is about freedom and autonomy.

Social rights are weakened as the private individual is expected to be autonomous and not rely on public support. The role of the social worker then becomes one of selecting and controlling the “deserving” who become “customers”. Lorenz argues that help is a right for which people should not be selected and the role of social work is to empower and support autonomy via public welfare and oppose dehumanising processes.

Lorenz’s argument is clearly demonstrated in the UK where social workers are increasingly challenged and influenced by public hostility to welfare. However, a recent TUC opinion poll found that this public hostility is largely related to public misconceptions as to how welfare funds are distributed.

World Social Work Day is an opportunity for UK social workers to lobby our national political leaders against policies that lead to economic and social equalities. It should also serve as a trigger for UK social workers to engage in the social work transnational Global Agenda to achieve this end.

Sundus Saeed, Hand in Hand for Syria
Since the conflict began in Syria two years ago, families across the country have been torn apart. Children and women have been most affected, their vulnerability to attacks on residential communities perpetuated by the lack of psychiatric help and counselling, and the lack of a social care system.

Prior to the conflict in Syria, the role of social workers was beginning to develop. Largely operating in schools, social workers would liaise with teachers, families and students on non-educational matters and, wherever necessary, if any children were at risk of any kind, they would provide support and counselling.

However, since the uprising, a large number of children are now out of education. Particularly noticeable is a decrease in attendance by girls and a drop in the average days of attendance. Educational establishments are being used as places of refuge for internally displaced Syrians. According to the Ministry of Education/UNICEF, 1,960 schools and other public buildings are hosting IDPs (internally displaced persons) across Syria.  Other schools have been utilised for the purpose of establishing makeshift hospitals, while several have been completely destroyed in shelling. This has meant that the system, which heavily relied on the existence of co-ordination in schools between social workers and parents, has virtually collapsed. 

Due to the large number of casualties involved in the current conflict, there are now significant numbers of orphaned and abandoned children roaming the streets, susceptible to ill-health and abuse. According to Human Rights Watch, children as young as 14 have been drafted into the armed conflict.

The absence of a breadwinner figure in families has led to a lack of reliable income. At the same time, little assistance and aid is reaching these broken families, and their basic needs are not being met. The 2 million internally displaced Syrians, of which children account for 46%, are in a dire and desperate situation.

Reports conducted by the UN have confirmed "increasing vulnerability of the populations inside communal shelters", but in particular outside the shelters. The needs of women and children with regards to their protection and safety have increased; sexual harassment and abuse, domestic violence, early marriage, drop-out of schools, lack of access to basic services and psycho-social needs are prevalent.

Syrian security forces have used sexual violence as a tool of humiliation both inside and outside of detention centres. According to Human Rights Watch, women and girls have been raped and sexually assaulted during raids of their homes. Victims are hesitant to report such attacks because of the stigma attached to sexual violence, and because of limited access into Syria for humanitarian observers and journalists alike, documentation of such cases has been difficult. 

Charities such as Hand in Hand for Syria are providing humanitarian and medical aid as best they can to the affected areas, but with the security situation still a significant hindrance, aid workers have to prioritise meeting people's basic needs, such as medical treatment, food, shelter and warmth. This means counselling and psychological treatment remain a rarity in Syria.

Iman Mujahed, a trustee of the charity, has just returned from an aid trip and recalls the “dead” look in the eyes of children affected by the conflict. “They play as 'normal' children do, but they are reminded of the horrors of the conflict on an everyday basis, with scores of child refugees coming through the barbed wire entrances of the refugee camps, talking amongst themselves like little old men and women with stories of whom they have lost and how. It is tragic to witness their suffering.” 

To deal with the large scale needs of children, Hand in Hand for Syria has opened a children's hospital in the Atmeh border town in Idlib province, which hosts the largest number of refugees in Syria. There is also a new maternity unit nearby, established for an obstetrician previously delivering babies on her kitchen floor, highlighting the fortitude with which many women are dealing with the crisis.

Ms Mujahed added: “These stories are all too common. Stories of children bearing witness to things they should not; mothers bathing their children in what can only be described as orange sludge; small children walking around with no shoes during winter. This children's hospital is but one small step towards helping young victims of the terrible events in Syria.”  

Another initiative of Hand in Hand for Syria has been the distribution of 3,000 children’s books to refugees and schools inside Syria. 'Books for Syria' aims to assist children directly affected by the Syrian crisis, educating them with socially and culturally relevant content, and inspiring them with a new found hope and confidence for the future.

Ms Mujahed said: “On receiving the beautifully illustrated books, the children instantly starting reading them, in awe of the precious gift they had received.

“Despite the ongoing conflict, these initiatives are one step on the road to recovery for the thousands of families and children who have witnessed unimaginable levels of atrocities.”

Ruth Stark, Convenor for the Human Rights Commission of the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), said: "Through our connections in IFSW we were aware that social work was beginning to get established in Syria before the collapse of society in the last two years. We are concerned, along with many agencies, about the loss of childhood.

"Social work as a profession was first recognised by the UN as an important contributor to social recovery following the disasters that had befallen people after the Second World War and was awarded NGO status with the UN precisely to advocate and work with others in these situations.

"While this task has fallen primarily to third sector organisations, some UK authorities have loaned staff to countries re-structuring, for example after the fall of the Berlin Wall or civil war in the Balkan countries. All this forms part of the work we are trying to do internationally for social work and social development, as well as to work towards what will be put in place by the UN when the Millennium Goals are reviewed in 2015."

For further details on Hand in Hand for Syria's work visit www.handinhandforsyria.org.uk

Speaking at a celebration event in Westminster later today, BASW Interim Chief Executive Bridget Robb will tell an audience of MPs and social work professionals that money is not the answer to all of the current problems faced by local authority services and make a plea for both sides to work together.

The British Association of Social Workers (BASW), the Joint University Council Social Work Education Committee (JUCSWEC) and the Social Work and Health Inequalities Network have come together through a joint commitment to The Global Agenda and the importance of World Social Work Day to create a celebration event at Westminster to platform this year’s theme of “Promoting social and economic equalities”.

Ms Robb’s speech will say: “We are seeing the impact on families with inadequate money to feed their children, we are seeing the adults out of work with nothing to do, we are seeing the older people who are trapped in their own homes with inadequate heating.

“We are hearing communities saying, enough!

“We are seeing social workers across the world ground down by being expected to keep vulnerable people safe where there are inadequate systems to do so.

“It is no answer to pretend that throwing money at problems will solve them – we are not that naive. But the speed of shutting services and reducing benefits is having a major impact on social workers and the individuals and communities they serve.

“We are challenged to find new ways of working and new ways of living together. In celebrating social work across the world today, the Global Agenda invites us to develop a road map in each country to explore how we can do this together.”

World Social Work Day celebrations are also being held in Scotland and Northern Ireland today and tomorrow in Wales involving their political and professional leaders – and well as in universities and workplaces across the UK and across social media.

Writing in today’s Guardian, Bridget Robb also raises the notion that there could be a new statutory duty on social workers to promote the World Social Work Day theme of “Promoting social and economic equalities” by advocating on behalf of service users. “As more and more people who use and rely on services turn to legal action to seek adequate provision from local authorities, perhaps it is time for a statutory legal duty on social workers as advocates as part of a clear legal process, similar to that with mental health hearings” Ms Robb said.

Read the Guardian blog in full