The Tanzania Institute of Social Work (ISW) is partnering with Jane Addams College of Social Work (JACSW) and the Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago to strengthen ISW’s pre-and in-service social work training programs.
Partners are working to address Tanzania’s immediate and long-term needs for trained social workers who can provide care and support to orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). Specific objectives include strengthening the role of social workers as case managers and increasing the capacity of community volunteers to access resources for improving care for OVCs.
To this end, the partnership is building ISW’s capacity to deliver high quality pre- and in-service social work education, particularly in the areas of HIV/AIDS and OVC care through curriculum development; joint teaching curriculum; enhanced student fieldwork placement and supervision; exchange of educational materials and training resources; faculty development for teaching and targeted evaluation; and the development and institutionalization of an in-service certificate program for para-professional case managers to serve the needs of OVC.
As of May 2008, partners have trained some 410 para-social workers from three districts in Dar es Salaam and in high burden areas of Iringa, Mbeya, and Morogoro. These community workers provide care and support to orphans and vulnerable children and families by linking them to much-needed assistance. Partners have also trained 25 master trainers in the para-social work curriculum, thus bolstering sustainable local capacity.
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