Next to teaching, the noblest of professions, social work probably comes closest. In this age of globalization and climate change and their consequent natural and man-made disasters, the importance of the capacity of social workers to attend to the needs of victims is much-needed. Doctors, nurses and other health professionals are obviously of equal importance, but they usually treat only the physical body.
Trauma, depression and the negative social cost of disasters and other social problems that impact on communities, families and individuals can only be given ample attention by social workers. They interact with clients on a daily basis and visit slums and streets where constituents actually live. But how many social workers do we have in Bohol? This is supposed to be a necessity in every local government unit. In a number of municipalities, unfortunately, there are none.
The other crucial consideration is, do we even have enough Boholano licensed social workers to hire? In order to get appointed as the Social Welfare Officer of a town, you have to have these letters after your name, RSW; or, Registered Social Worker. It presupposes that you have defended your college thesis and passed the required board examination. Is the four-year course, Bachelor of Science in Social Work, even offered in our local colleges and universities here?
Luckily, there is at least one institution of higher learning in our province currently offering this highly significant course. The BILC or Bohol International Learning College which started as a philanthropic initiative of Mariano Uy is pioneering on this aspect of education. He is known to be espousing profound social causes, such as the Presidential Candidacies of Chief Justice Marcelo Fernan and Senator Grace Poe. His choices are obviously of high caliber.
And then here is BILC, breaking ground, as the only college in Bohol offering the all-important course on social work. They currently even have a consortium with the Ateneo de Davao University offering a Masteral Course on Social Work right here at their Manga-Tiptip campus. It goes without saying that this is another philanthropic venture since there is not much profit to be expected. They are still planting the seeds of what is projected to be a full blown college of arts and sciences which will soon have bachelor’s degrees in Economics, Sociology, Social Work, English and Journalism. It will take a few more years to come into fruition. But such courses will be great contributions to Bohol’s sustainable and holistic development.
If you are a holder of a master’s degree in journalism, communication arts, sociology, economics or related social sciences, feel free to contact Dr. Proceso Orcullo of BILC who is coordinating these pioneering initiatives of the Uy family. He can be reached through these numbers: 09473806071. You could be of help in this noble endeavor.