1.make a deep reflection of your daily activities in the center.
2. put some time in and time out 8:00-5:00 daily
PRETEND THAT YOU WORK IN A CENTER FOR ABANDONED CHILDREN AND YOU ARE A SOCIAL WORKER. JUST PUT JOURNAL ENTRIES EVERYDAY, LIKE A DIARY BUT OF A WORKING PERSON.
8:00 Am 10 May 2011
Today is my first day at work here at the Shelter for All. We are a non-profit organization that cares for abused, abandoned, neglected and troubled children/youth.
Our center provides the following services:
- Temporary/emergency housing for abused, abandoned, neglected or troubled children, many in need of medication/pharmaceutical administration.
- Meeting the needs of special education children.
- Long-term independent housing.
- Placement of children by the Juvenile Courts, Job and Family Services Department, and other placing agencies.
- An alternative to institutionalization for mildly troubled children, developmentally disabled and the physically challenged.
- Animal Education Therapy Program.
5:00 PM
Long, long day for me. But a successful one. The majority of the day was spent getting familiar with the premises and getting to know the children who are at the center and meeting all the personnel. I would say that everything went off to a good start. They have started something wonderful for these beautiful children.
Abused and neglected children appear to have no sense of security to help them acknowledge and resolve their emotional pain. Here at the center we enforce a positive approach by helping the children take pride in their selves and we teach them socially appropriate behavior. The staff and therapists work towards self-sufficiency for each of the children while all the time using discipline, love and other positive reinforcements.
We want the children to realize that there is a tomorrow and to have them surrounded in a secure environment.
8:00 AM 31 May, 2011
Almost one month at this center and believe me every single day is precious time spent with these special children. One of our primary objectives is to break the present cycle of abuse and disruption and to help every child live a normal and fruitful life.
The sound of children laughing and talking is music to my ears. Those are the signs of happy children. It makes me happy that we have contributed to helping these children get their lives back again.
5:00 PM
There is one girl I have taken an interest in. She was physically and sexually abused by her step-father for several years. At one point he almost killed her and that is how she ended up in our center. I met her when I first arrived at the center. She had not yet recovered from her wounds and had bandages everywhere. I have never encountered such a battered spirit before. This girl was so scared of everything including her own shadow! We’ve had to separate her from the rest of the group because we are working to heal her first and gain some confidence before reintroducing her to the group.
After a lot of therapy sessions and one on one session, she is starting to heal. I think next week we will try to introduce her to a group to join some of the group projects we are doing.
8:00 Am 10 June, 2011
Field trip day! More later as I need to organize the troops to get on the buses and to make sure everything we need is taken care of. Logistics! I hope we do not have a breakdown from any one of the kids.
7:00 PM
Today was a mega-early day. But what great excitement for everyone. We had a field trip to one of the farms. It was a wonderful day- the sun was out and it was breezy. There were a total of 2 buses and 60 kids! Everyone was abuzz with excitement. Such joy to see the happiness on their faces. We only had one incident where 2 boys had it out with each other because one would not give what the other wanted. Besides that, everything went off without a hitch.
At the farm the children were able to interact with some animals at the petting zoo. Being with animals is therapeutic. The children can relate to the fragility of the baby rabbits and gerbils they got to play with.
They also learned about bees and the different products created from the bees’ honey. The children got the chance to identify the queen bee in a colony. The farm also provided them a snack with some bread and fresh honey.
There were some games we played which promoted team cooperation. One of the children’s favorite was eating the apple game. It involved 2 children, an apple on a string, and the object of the game was to finish eating the apple.
All in all it was a successful day and everyone is looking forward to the next field trip.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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