Department of Social Work at Saint Mary's College

Department of Social Work News:

El Salvador- Fall 2007

Dr. JoAnn Burke and nine students, traveled to El Salvador over their Fall Break and participated in a seven-day immersion experience in San Salvador from October 20 – 27, 2007.

A message from Dr. Burke:

As social workers, we work closely with emerging needs in our communities. While I do not speak Spanish, I became increasingly aware of the need to educate our students to work with growing numbers of Spanish-speaking populations. In spring 2005, I went to El Salvador with six students. The following fall I discussed issues related to immigration and showed pictures from this trip, and several students began to develop an interest in another El Salvador immersion trip. External and internal grants enabled me to develop this immersion experience into a three credit course. In this course, we looked at social, political, and economic issues from the perspective of vulnerable populations. We met as a class for several weeks this fall before going to El Salvador with Crispaz for six days over Fall Break. Sr. Linda Kors accompanied me and nine students on this trip. We met with representatives from many NGOs (non-government organizations) as well as the U.S. Embassy and a liberation theologian at the University of Central America. A Catholic sister who works in northern El Salvador made a particularly poignant statement to us. She said, "Once your eyes have been truly opened to see te plight of the very, very poor (who are being excluded from the benefits of the free market global economy), you can never really forget."

Upon their return, the students made a presentation at the Latino Behavioral Health Conference in Indiana in November. In addition, our students are making presentations related to this learning experience in several classes. We are currently conducting a search for a new Field Practicum Coordinator who will be responsible for our department certificate in Social Work with Spanish-speaking populations.

-Dr. JoAnn Burke

CRISPAZ, founded in 1984, is a faith-based organization dedicated to poverty-stricken and marginalized communities in El Salvador. They are dedicated to building bridges of solidarity between communities in El Salvador and those in the United States. CRISPAZ strives to provide programs and offer services that work to promote peace, justice, and human liberation.
	One such program is the El Salvador Encounter in which the group participated. This encounter was an intensive learning experience for North Americans visiting El Salvador. It provided the students and Dr. Burke with an opportunity to explorea different reality and to build relationships with the people of El Salvador. Each day of the El Salvador Encounter ended in discussion and reflection, which was an invaluable opportunity to process the significance of the encounter. Through this experience the students and Dr. Burke fostered a sense of solidarity with the Salvadoran people, built intercultural relations, and learned about opportunities how we, as women, can advocate for the poor and marginalized.
We extend our sincere appreciation to the Saint Mary’s College Center for Women’s InterCultural Leadership, our Saint Mary's College Social Work field instructors at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, and the Garcia Fund at the Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center Foundation for their support of this learning experience.
.	Dr. Burke, Sr. Linda Kors, and the students at the Crispaz Guest House. They would like to thank Crispaz for their hospitality.