Organization: American International Health Alliance/HIV/AIDS Twinning Center
Tanzania, like many other developing countries, is currently faced with a number of social problems that require the attention of social workers. For instance, the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate currently stands at 5.7 percent and it has amounted to 2.5 million children who have lost at least one parent. Many of these children are cared for by a grandparent or an older sibling. Social workers can be instrumental in efforts to provide critical support and services to caregivers. However, the welfare system is severely overstretched, with trained social workers assigned to only half of the country’s 126 districts.
The existing number of trained social workers is inadequate to properly address the ever-emerging social problems throughout Tanzania. Among those who are employed as social workers in local and central government and in non-governmental organizations, many do not have social work training, but rather have training in fields like sociology, nutrition, or community development to mention just a few. Lack of a strong professional body to guide and regulate the professional practice of social work has been the biggest snag and contributing factor to such problems leading to lack of quality service provision.
With support from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the HIV/AIDS Twinning Center launched a partnership in April 2010 between the Tanzania Social Workers Association (TASWA) and the US-based National Association of Social Workers (NASW) to establish an “association to association” learning exchange. The goal of the partnership is to strengthen the organizational capacity of TASWA in uniting, promoting and regulating social workers to address HIV/AIDS and pertinent social work practice issues.
TASWA is a nonprofit, non-governmental professional association, established in 1980 and officially registered in 1982. It is the only association that unites and supports Social Workers throughout Tanzania (mainland and Zanzibar), as they serve, advocate for and defend various communities.
Its mission is to enhance the welfare of the Tanzanian people through advocacy, quality service provision and promoting human rights, social justice and policies that ensure the rights of vulnerable populations, especially children, the disabled and the elderly.
An important element of the NASW-TASWA partnership is to enhance the capacity of TASWA until it becomes a strong, stand-alone professional organization. TASWA intends to bring on board a volunteer and utilize his/her expertise to enable TASWA staff, board and members to provide high quality and relevant services. The purpose is to ensure that TASWA becomes a strong professional association that guides and regulates the professional conduct of its members to match global standards.
If you are interested in serving as a catalyst for sustainable change and want to make a meaningful contribution to the global fight against AIDS, go to: http://www.twinningagainstaids.org/volunteers.html and APPLY!
The VHC provides each volunteer with airfare, housing, a generous living allowance, medical evacuation insurance, and covers expenses for vaccinations and visa/work permits.
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