The world of Tzu Chi April 2021 (Vol.133)

2021 • 04 06 eature support in rural areas were not available in cities, while state assistance and relief were not yet in place, workers in difficult situations, such as illness, unemployment, disability and old age, could only rely on alms, go to alms houses, or wait for death. As a result, some philanthropists, volunteer workers and charity organizations began to spring up and take action on poverty issues. The Charity Organization Society (also known asAssociated Charities), founded in England in 1869, is a good example. This organization believed that giving out charity without investigating the problems behind poverty would create a class of citizens that would always be dependent on alms giving. This belief has continued to this day. The formation of social workers began with voluntary groups that were caring for the poor. However, by the beginning of the 20th century, social work gradually transformed into a professional line of service. To achieve better efficiency and results, social workers, who initially served out of well intention, began to receive professional training. Thus, in 1898, the Charity Organization Society in the United States established the New York School of Philanthropy to train its social workers. Later on, the University of Birmingham and the University of London also started social studies and social policy courses in 1908 and 1912 respectively. Today, professional social work education programmes range from bachelor’s, master’s to doctoral degrees. In addition, many countries are also actively enacting legislation to allow professional social workers to be registered. Nevertheless, most people tend to uncommon amongst volunteers. I believe most of us have had this experience—coming across homeless people with long beards, tangled hair and ragged clothes, begging on the street. Feeling sympathetic, we instinctively reached into our pockets for loose change and dropped them in the begging bowl before leaving. This is certainly an act of kindness that can temporarily help relieve the plight of the homeless person. But, why is that man homeless? Does he have a job? What does he do for a living? Does he have medical needs? Only by solving these root causes and problems, among others, can we really help the homeless to deal with these wide range of issues that require coordination among various units including diverse social workers equipped with professional knowledge. Who are social workers? As the name implies, social workers are engaged in social work. According to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), social work is a professional activity of helping individuals, families, groups and communities to enhance or restore their capacity for social functioning, and creating societal conditions favourable to that goal. When did social workers emerge? This can be traced back to the first and second industrial revolutions in the 18th and 19th centuries. Back then, a large number of workers left the countryside for jobs in factories in fast-growing cities. The main reason these people left the countryside was poverty. Upon their arrival in cities, they became the working class. As community