The theme for Aotearoa New Zealand Social Workers Day 2011 was Social Workers Respond to Natural Disasters. This emerged from the International Federation of World Social Workers Day theme Social Workers respond to Global Crises. The Canterbury earthquakes, the Queensland floods in January, the tornado events in the North Island and the Japanese earthquake and tsunami all saw social workers responding to the immediate needs of affected people, often at the same time as they struggled with their own difficulties.

Social workers from Canterbury and round the country offered their time and many contributed significant volunteer hours to support the initial recovery effort.

To quote Paul Nixon, Child Social Worker Child Youth and Family,“as social workers we have the opportunity every day to help build resilience in the lives of the people we work with. An important aspect of resilience is having hopes and dreams and a belief in our own ability to make those dreams come true”.

Social workers are instrumental in supporting people to identify and achieve their hopes and dreams. Social Workers Days provides an opportunity to celebrate which many have done as the following photos illustrate.  Social Workers Day contd