Reference of Social Work In The Face of Crises and Disasters Booklets – Part Two
Researcher – Hiam Samaha Kahi
Research Assistant – Aimee Ghanem
One of the experiences that is worth mentioning is that of Mrs. Wadad Gemayel Chehab at Deir El Salib, who challenged the risks and difficulties to maintain the quality of social intervention with people suffering from psychiatric and mental illnesses, and drug addicts in and outside the hospital. The problem of reaching unsafe or remote areas never stopped her, even sometimes late at night, when the situation called for her attendance. Mrs. Chehab said: “I tried hard to keep the relationship between the patient at the hospital and his family, and I kept up with people when they were discharged and when they returned to normal life. I also helped them to get their rights, contributed to bringing them back to their environment and worked for their reintegration.” She continued: “I wasn’t alone in this mission; we were sharing tasks with my fellow social workers at the hospital.” She elaborated: “As social workers, we must consistently assess our work to avoid slipping into monotony and insularity, which are the two greatest threats to the social worker.” … “We have to be significantly loving and giving, dig deeply into social situations and do not let appearances deceive us… we have to believe that people are capable of changing.”
Determination, fortitude, commitment and devotion accompanied this experience.