Thomas M. Crea, professor and chair of the Global Practice program, discusses a project with students. Photo by Caitlin Cunningham for 乱伦小可爱 Photography.
Humanitarian crises are on the rise around the world, with a record number of people now in need of aid and support.
Nearly 300 million individuals required assistance in 2024, , an international humanitarian organization, and more than 122 million men, women, and children were forcibly displaced as a result of war, famine, environmental disasters, and other deleterious factors.听
For nearly 20 years, students, faculty, and staff in the 乱伦小可爱 School of Social Work鈥檚 Global Practice program have been rising to meet these unprecedented challenges, stepping up to tackle complex social issues that transcend national boundaries.
Faculty have forged strong relationships with government officials and policymakers worldwide to help scale and sustain interventions to address the impact of some of the most severe global crises鈥攁mong them violent conflict, forced migration, and climate change.
In partnership with the government of Rwanda, 乱伦小可爱SSW鈥檚 Research Program on Children and Adversity has created a home-visiting program that has already benefited the health and well-being of more than 10,000 families in that country.听
And other researchers are intervening to strengthen families affected by violence and displacement in Bogot谩, Colombia; examine the impact of prolonged droughts on the health of children in Uganda; and analyze how a recent transition to more environmentally friendly brick kiln technologies in Bangladesh will affect the social and economic well-being of brick kiln workers in Greater Dhaka.
Through their field placements, 乱伦小可爱SSW students are doing vital work with some of the world鈥檚 most respected humanitarian organizations, intergovernmental agencies, and NGOs. Their responsibilities include providing mental health services to refugees, developing programs to prevent gender-based violence, and conducting research on migration policies.听
Since 2006, some 280 global practice students have worked in more than 50 countries for nearly 100 agencies鈥攊ncluding UNICEF, Oxfam, and the World Health Organization.
Some social workers in training have traveled to the San Diego/Tijuana Border to learn how to address asylum seekers鈥� urgent and complex needs. Others have visited Washington, D.C., to examine the interplay between migration policies and social services. And all of them have received first-in-class preparation to respond to emerging complexities in resource-poor communities around the globe.
鈥淓ighteen years ago, when we began our Global Practice program, we were confident in the value of social work at the ground level in resource-poor settings,鈥� said 乱伦小可爱SSW Dean Gautam N. Yadama. 鈥淏ut we could not have anticipated the centrality of social work for millions of people and their communities facing environmental and climate risk.鈥�
Students work closely with community-based organizations to build, implement, and evaluate programs that identify and meet local needs. Instead of prescriptive solutions, prospective social workers focus on systems strengthening, capacity building, and accompaniment. Courtesy photo.
The Global Practice program鈥攐ne of six academic pathways at 乱伦小可爱SSW that include specialized coursework and field placements鈥攖rains future practitioners to make a lasting impact in global social work, humanitarian aid, and international development.
Students work closely with community-based organizations to build, implement, and evaluate programs that identify and meet local needs. Instead of prescriptive solutions, prospective social workers focus on systems strengthening, capacity building, and accompaniment.听
Take Hannah Berard, MSW鈥�24, who served as an intern for, an award-winning NGO in Athens, Greece, that aims to fill the gaps in humanitarian protection for people seeking refuge.
Berard worked for the organization鈥檚 Sports4Development project, which involved evaluating sport as a tool to support emotional resilience and psychosocial well-being in children, adolescents, and young adults living in overcrowded refugee camps.听
鈥淢y global placement has encouraged me to think critically about how seemingly small shifts at a policy level can have profound impacts on the daily lives, rights, and dignity of people on the move by affecting their access to basic needs,鈥� said Berard. 鈥淚 have developed a greater awareness of the asylum process in Europe and see the importance of grassroots organizations working together to address gaps in the system.鈥�
She parlayed her internship in Greece into a full-time job as a clinician at a behavioral and mental health agency back in the U.S. Other graduates have leveraged their experiences at 乱伦小可爱SSW to secure leadership roles at the United Nations, the International Rescue Committee, the U.S. Peace Corps, and other prominent organizations worldwide.听
They hold a range of roles鈥攆rom case managers and behavioral health specialists to researchers and program directors鈥攅ngaged in direct practice, program development, management, evaluation, research, training, capacity building, and policy.
Ashlen Nimmo, MSW鈥�16, currently works for in Nairobi, Kenya, where she helps regional and country teams make sure their programs promote gender equality and keep people safe.
She described her experience in the Global Practice program as 鈥渧ery positive鈥� and said it better equipped her to navigate the challenges of humanitarian work.
鈥淪ince leaving the program and starting work with CRS, I have been fortunate to be in a role that aligns with my passions, values, and interests,鈥� Nimmo said. 鈥淚 am grateful for the Global Practice program and the support of my professors for facilitating that path to a meaningful career.鈥�
Faculty, for their part, are conducting research, implementing novel interventions, and partnering with global leaders to improve the health and well-being of some of the most vulnerable people around the world.
Associate Professor Mar铆a Fernanda Pi帽eros-Lea帽o has designed an intervention to improve the well-being of Venezuelan migrants who have been forced to flee to Colombia. The intervention, delivered through in-home visits from trained community workers, aims to support early childhood development and prevent household violence among families suffering from trauma related to forced migration and family separation.听
Results show that families acquire improved parenting skills and experience a reduction in household violence, fostering a safer and more nurturing environment in which children can thrive.
Assistant Professor Whitney Irie is working to establish the Africa Implementation Research Institute Hub, a collaborative endeavor aimed at advancing implementation science research in Africa.听
Irie recently visited the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa, the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, and the University of Zambia鈥檚 School of Public Health, where she discussed how implementation science can be used to improve health outcomes through evidence-based practices.
From left to right: Professors William Byansi, Thomas Crea, and Praveen Kumar. Photo by Caitlin Cunningham for 乱伦小可爱 Photography.
And Professor Christopher Salas-Wright recently received a five-year, $2.1 million grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to conduct a longitudinal study aimed at addressing the needs of Venezuelan migrants who have been forced to flee to Colombia.听
As part of the project, he and his research partners will survey 1,000 youths and adults every six months for three years to develop a deep understanding of their lives pre- and post-migration.听
In collaboration with Corporaci贸n Nuevos Rumbos in Bogot谩, Colombia, Salas-Wright plans to disseminate his findings to inform efforts to support Venezuelan migrants and families. This will involve publishing bilingual reports showcasing key findings, best practices, and intervention strategies for working with crisis migrants.
鈥淔or those of us who want to be agents of peace and change,鈥� said Thomas M. Crea, professor and chair of the Global Practice program, 鈥渢he challenge is not only to serve the person in front of us, but also to address the systemic factors that affect that person鈥檚 well-being in the context of their families, communities, and larger social contexts.鈥�
When faculty are not working to address complex humanitarian crises around the world, they are preparing the next generation of social workers to meet the urgent needs of people facing serious challenges at home and abroad.听
Faculty integrate clinical and macro skills into the curriculum to prepare global practice students to meet the complex challenges that await them in their work in refugee settlements, migration routes, borderlands, and many other settings.
They require students in the Global Practice program to take two courses鈥擣rameworks and Tools for Global Practice and Global Policy Issues and Implications鈥攂ut they also offer supplemental certificate programs in refugees and immigrants and global humanitarian practice.听
These certificates, which are embedded within the MSW degree, enhance the Global Practice curriculum by placing special emphasis on person-centered approaches to human mobility, awareness of protection issues, engagement with diverse communities in crisis, and cross-sectoral collaboration.
What鈥檚 more, 乱伦小可爱SSW recently launched an Interdisciplinary Certificate in Humanitarian Assistance program, the first online offering within the school鈥檚 history, to ensure that its graduates and humanitarian partners have access to up-to-date knowledge on how best to respond to rapidly changing needs around the globe.听
The ICHA curriculum, developed in partnership with international non-governmental organizations, consists of eight modules that give students a grounding in the core, interdisciplinary competencies of global humanitarian assistance.
All in all, 乱伦小可爱SSW graduates are prepared to work with communities worldwide, whether they are serving in humanitarian settings like Cox鈥檚 Bazar in Bangladesh with a million Rohingya refugees or in countries like El Salvador where the fragile livelihoods of communities are in the crosshairs of climate and environmental risk.听
鈥淣o matter the condition,鈥� said Yadama, 鈥渨e leverage the person-in-the-environment approach at the heart of social work to train our students to strengthen, mobilize, and support such communities, families, and individuals.鈥�
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