The problem with current social work practice in Africa is that following its development in the West, it came to Africa grounded in values and ideologies stemming from capitalism, social Darwinism, the protestant ethic and individualism, all of which are un-African. Western ideas permeated social work institutions despite the ethical conflicts between traditional African cultures and values and the Western Judeo-Christian norms on which social work was based. Despite the political independence of most African countries, the profession has remained stuck in Western methods, values, principles and standards. Some of the traditional social work principles seem alien in African contexts. The social work principle of individualisation, for example, is un-African as it promotes individualism and yet life in Africa is communal. The content used in social work education and training in most institutions in Zimbabwe originated from elsewhere outside the African continent and as a result does not respect Africana values, beliefs, mores, taboos and traditional social protection systems. As it stands, social work in Zimbabwe in particular is a ‘mermaid’ profession based on Western theory but serving African clients. If social work in Africa is to decolonise, practitioners should have an understanding of and respect for African beliefs and practices. This is mainly because there is no clear separation between the material and the sacred among indigenous African people. This article therefore challenges African scholars to generate Afrocentric knowledge that should be imparted to African students for them to be effective in the African context. Afrocentric social work should be based on, improve and professionalise traditional helping systems that were in place prior to the coming of the Whites to the African continent.

Children in residential care facilities face a myriad of challenges that range from a lack of attachment with caregivers, peer relationships to a lack of proper adult guidance, identity, and a family with shared values. This study sought to examine the psychosocial challenges facing children in residential childcare facilities in the Mashonaland Central province, Zimbabwe. The study adopted a qualitative approach and used a case study design. A sample of 44 children from a children’s home in Bindura town, Mashonaland Central province and 3 key informants who were caregivers participated in the study. The study used purposive sampling in identifying participants for interviews and focus group discussions. Data were analysed using a thematic content analysis. The study found that the children are affected by peer pressure, discriminated against by society, and also face challenges in adapting to the institutional life. The psychosocial challenges children face affect their confidence and self-esteem. Based on the study findings, the research recommends soft skills training for children to prepare them for release after their eighteenth birthday. It also recommends continuous training of caregivers to reduce burnout and to keep them updated with trends in childcare in terms of regulations, and the provision of educational materials on issues affecting children the most like HIV and AIDS, drug and substance abuse and stress.

A significant proportion of South Africans are exposed to traumatic life experiences annually. The trauma is exacerbated by high crime rate which ranges from murder, violence, house breaking and theft. The trauma victims end up in the hands of social workers who are ill prepared to deal with such clients. The motivation for this study was built on assessments that indicated at the time of the study that social work students in South Africa receive little or no training on trauma and trauma intervention. The purpose of this literature study was to draw together relevant knowledge on trauma in South Africa, trauma intervention and the importance of trauma intervention training for social workers in South Africa. Articles reviewed were identified through search engines such as Google Scholar, JSTOR, ProQuest, EBSCOHost, Boloka-NWU Institutional Repository (NWU-IR), Scopus, Science Direct and Web of Science were the databases and search engines utilized in the search. The inclusion criteria that were used to help identify relevant and recent studies using key words regarding the topic of trauma, were chapters in books; conference proceedings; full-text journal articles and higher degree papers. The literature consulted exposes how South Africans are exposed to traumatic life events and provided a deeper understanding of the problem of trauma and trauma intervention. The literature study also clarified why it is critical to have a trauma intervention model for social workers in South Africa and provided guidelines for the development of the trauma intervention manual.

The enduring dominant influences from Western countries have long been felt in the different spheres of political ideologies, education, financial, technological and intellectual discourses, particularly in Africa. In spite of wide-ranging inequalities, the end of the colonial era has seen a remarkable progress of Third World academic and scientific systems and a significant degree of independence and objectivity. The aim of this article is to analyse language as an impediment to or a resource for, and the dynamics of educational processes towards, the indigenisation of social work education. The authors reviewed and analysed literature as research design. The study adopted the Afrocentricity theory, as it seeks to recreate a historiography that represents and recognises South African cultural influences on human evolution and development. In this article, literature was used to explore the ways in which people use cultural knowledge to inform social work education. The review particularly focuses on language as an impediment to or a resource for the indigenisation of social work education and the dynamics of educational processes. The literature review clarifies that, by virtue of their mainly Eurocentric training, social work educators seldom consider indigenous knowledge of Black South Africans over and above Western-oriented world views, and have neglected the significance of Black South African indigenous knowledge insofar as initiatives towards practice interventions are concerned. Future research should focus on how university policies, material development and dissemination of information can be harmonised to encompass indigenous languages in social work education and training.

Islamophobia and The Challenge of Being Muslim in Institutions of Higher Learning in Zimbabwe