Social workers in the Western Cape are drawing attention to the unseen pressures facing families as South Africa prepares to mark World Social Work Day, today 17 March.
The annual observance carries the theme “Co-Building Hope and Harmony: A Harambee Call to Unite a Divided Society”, emphasising the crucial role social workers play in supporting communities through hidden challenges.
Cornelia Giliomee, a social worker with Badisa, a non-profit social services organisation, said many of the difficulties families face remain hidden from public view.
“Many of the challenges people experience happen behind closed doors,” Giliomee explained. “Our first priority is to support and strengthen families so that children can remain safely with their own families where possible.”
The organisation, which operates 134 audited programmes across the Western, Northern and Eastern Cape, reaches more than one million people annually. Social workers report increasing demand from middle-income families struggling with rising living costs.
Mental health and food security concerns
Letitia Willemse, another Badisa social worker, highlighted mental health issues and food insecurity as significant but often overlooked community struggles.
“Due to high food prices in a low-income communities, people struggle to afford food,” Willemse said. Common hidden challenges include substance abuse, poverty, unemployment and school absenteeism.
Social workers provide counselling, conflict management and connect families with resources, with child removal considered only as a last resort.
The World Social Work Day theme draws on the African concept of Harambee, meaning “pulling together”, to encourage collective community responses to social challenges.
Willemse urged community members to take active roles in addressing local problems. “Report. Be involved. Take ownership. Then we will win together.”
Badisa offers comprehensive support services ranging from pre-birth programmes and foster care to elderly care, substance recovery and disability support. The Level 1 B-BBEE organisation maintains Section 18A compliance status.
For more information, contact Adrie Jurgensen at director.marketing@badisa.org.za or 083 441 8256.
