A Visit to Brgy. Barangka's Barangay Hall

To see more of how social workers positively impact communities, we delved into one of our local barangays to see what issues are being addressed and what issues still need to be addressed in their localities, the dynamics of their service, and how social workers or anyone in the social work field move to make sure anyone in the area is given the aid they need - whatever it may be.

Though we made an appointment to interview the Barangay Captain, it seemed to be that he needed to do urgent matters when we arrived at the barangay hall which was why we ended up interviewing two kagawad's instead. Sir Boyet Mascarina and Sir Ronnie Tiburcio accommodated us with such hospitality that they even let us sit on the table meant to be sat on by the board of people in the barangay hall and we commenced with our interview.

 Of course, we started with the most important question which was "what kind of social services does the local government unit in Barangka usually give?". The two barangay officials then said that most of the people in need of any social service usually go to the barangay hall first, and they give out quick solutions such as conducting feeding programs, helping in the processing of financial aid, distributing medicines, assisting them in legal cases, and giving of relief goods especially if there are any cases of destruction due to calamities or natural disasters. This was also the number one issue that they faced usually, which was music to our ears because at least their barangay seems to be doing good. 

As a follow up, we asked whether there were any instances where social workers get to collaborate with them in the local government unit's activities, and we were pleased to know that Brgy. Barangka usually coordinates with DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) when they need extra help for special cases or even their daily operations. 

For special cases, they contact the social worker when the case is deemed to be serious or if they feel like they are not qualified enough to provide help. For instance, an old man was disowned by his family. Since they can't make him stay permanently in their center forever, they filed a case to DSWD. However, for some reason, his case was sent back to them. They explained that it was confusing, but they will continue to work on it. 

 

For their daily activities, since social workers could also help in the feeding programs, supplies dissemination and the like, it was implied that they really played a vital role in making the community a better place. This was very significant because while they were explaining, you could tell that they had utmost respect for the people they usually coordinate with. They acknowledged that these were registered social workers that were working with them and not just anyone, which touched us because it meant that even the government treats social workers as professionals. 

Additionally, the importance of human relationships and being able to collaborate with other professionals as stated by our previous lessons were really visible. Apart from DSWD, they also coordinate with public and private health centers and law enforcement to ensure that they keep on serving the public amply through their programs.

 Apart from providing people with financial aid,medicine, and food, the other programs of both the barangay officials and the social workers that work with them reveal their "enabler" roles because of their implemented programs such as the "Youth Task Force" wherein they encourage children to engage in sports activities to tap their potentials and encourage them to devote their time into more productive activities, lessening the risk for them to get involved in juvenile delinquency.

 Another program that struck us because of its promotion for a sense of equality among the community was the exchange-gift program that they hold every Christmas time wherein people they give out gifts to children from the barangay. 

Lastly, they had was the street dance competition that they were very proud of because you could really see the excitement of the people as they watched all the groups performed. Funny enough, once the competition ended, a lot of those who watched went home. The kagawads said that no one really cared about who won, it was the feeling of enjoyment which they valued. Truly, these two activities truly show how even activities like this better the quality of people's lives.

By the end of our interview, we even asked how we could help as simple members of the community and the kagawads said that simply just doing your part like not littering, not being a threat to the safety of the community, and even "paglinis sa tapat ng bahay mo" would make a great difference. 

 In conclusion, we found out that the set of skills and competencies of social workers can be applied to the barangay officials and their programs because their projects exhibit elements that we could relate to being a social worker such as striving for equality, social justice, and providing people with the sense of self-worth and dignity as well as giving them the right to participate in programs intended for the community. We also realized that virtually anyone can practice social care, and that without the collaboration of several professions, we would not be able to enjoy a non-chaotic community that we live in.

 REFERENCES

https://goo.gl/images/yRRhWM