So it begins!

I have finally started my field placement! There's so much to say about it already...where to begin?

First of all, I want to be super careful about confidentiality here. That's a standard value of social work, but it's also extremely important due to the work I'm doing. So, at times I may have to be a little vague just to make sure I'm protecting my clients and not doing anything to harm the mission of my agency.

Basically, I am working in a group home for girls who are survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. My agency works with the police to conduct rescues of girls known to be underage working in discotecas, brothels, or elsewhere and then brings them to this home. They tend to stay there for about six months to a year before transitioning to another home or re-entering society on their own. These girls are all adolescents (some are very young, and no one is old enough to be a high school graduate) and a few have children of their own. That is all I feel comfortable saying about my service population on the Internet, but I think you get the idea. Security is pretty tight there (I have to identify myself with the police before I'm allowed through multiple gates) so this is clearly a pretty sensitive situation--with good reason.

I actually have quite a significant role at my agency. The environment is very structured in order to help the girls find some stability and to keep their minds off the extremely tough situations they have left. The social workers teach them life skills, social skills, and academic skills during their time at the home. The social worker has given me about two hours each afternoon to run a workshop for the girls. It can be about whatever I want, as long as I'm sensitive to their experiences. I've decided to start by sharing a little about the United States and my home culture, and hopefully this will start conversation about culture differences in general. I thought this would be a good way to acknowledge the fact that I am foreign and to help us appreciate our differences. The girls have already requested English lessons as well, so I will gladly be conducting some English workshops. These workshops are already a lot to prepare in English, so you can imagine how busy I am trying to do this in Spanish!

Today I came to the house with a group of missionaries that comes to minister to the girls twice a week. My agency is not Christian, but they do allow Christians to come play games with the girls and share a small Bible lesson. This is a bit tricky for me, because although I am Christian I am a professional, not a volunteer. I want to respect the culture of my agency, and this may involve not being so open with my faith. Stilll, this was a great way to start getting to know the girls. Some are very warm and welcoming, while others are tougher to get to know. Communicating in Spanish is obviously a huge challenge, as is maintaining appropriate boundaries with the girls. I very much want them to know how much I care about them, but I must maintain my status as a professional, not a friend. Still, I feel very welcomed at this agency and this would truly be my dream job in the states. Tomorrow I come back for another half day, and then on Wednesdays I will be working in the agency's office to experience administrative social work. On Thursday, I'll officially be working at the house full time. So there you have it! I'm overwhelmed, yet excited to do my best and serve these girls in any way that I can.