Browsing by Author "Bhangyi, Venesio Bwambale"

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Decolonising social work fieldwork education in Africa
(Taylor & Francis Group, 2023) Bhangyi, Venesio Bwambale; Makoha, Godfrey
Social work is widely acknowledged as a practice-based profession and the decolonisation of its fieldwork education element would enhance its practical relevance in many global South countries. In recent years, there has been growing interest and effort to shift social work scholarship in Africa towards an indigenous, decolonial and contextual theory and practice. This chapter therefore engages with this debate by examining the approaches, challenges and prospects of decolonising social work fieldwork education on continental Africa. Using a systematic qualitative literature review epistemology, the chapter starts with a narration of the origins and status of social work and fieldwork education in Africa. The authors draw on the forces driving the decolonisation debate in social work, and the ubuntu principles of learning as the theoretical frames for the discussion. They further articulate the approaches, challenges and prospects of a decolonial social work fieldwork education in Africa. They conclude by drawing implications for social work fieldwork education rooted in the Ubuntu philosophies of community, culture, multiple/shared knowledge and continuous learning.
Directions in constructing a body of knowledge in eco-social work education and practice in Uganda: Actions, channels, and implications
(African Journal of Social Work, 2023-04) Bhangyi, Venesio Bwambale
In recent times, Uganda has witnessed human suffering resulting from the occurrence of environmental disasters thereby placing social work professionals, particularly those in civic organizations at the forefront of responses. As such, this article argues that the country’s largely agrarian welfare system and its pursuit of sustainable social development urgently necessitate reframing social work scholarship with an emphasis on eco-social theory for professionals to gain relevance and preparedness for actions and interventions that address environment linked problems. Through case analysis, the paper presents four recent cases of environmental natural disasters as a persuasion towards building an eco-social work body of knowledge. It then highlights the education and practice actions towards an eco-social work knowledge. The channels through which this action should take place are discussed and the implications of eco-social work thinking on professional social work education and practice are explored. It concludes by proposing a model for eco-social work education and practice that integrates formal public environmental safeguards and indigenous knowledge systems that champion protective and co-dependence approaches in people-environment interfaces.
Urban child poverty in Kampala city, insights from children’s drawings
(Discover Global Society, 2025-08-08) Kwiringira, Japheth Nkiriyehe; Okimait, David; Perry, Elizabeth W.; Akugizibwe, Mathias; Otim, Jude; Bhangyi, Venesio Bwambale; Balyejjusa, Moses Senkosi; Mugisha, James; Isabirye, Alone; Rujumba, Joseph
In many urban areas, rapid urbanization, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, has overwhelmed technical and administrative capacity to provide adequate services. This has led to various challenges of urban sustainability, including urban child poverty, known to worsen the cognitive and emotional well-being of such children. We aimed to gain an understanding of and provide evidence on urban child poverty in Uganda through children’s diagrammatic representations of the drivers, effects, and needed interventions. We used children’s drawings, in-depth interpretations of these drawings, and observations. Using a two-stage sampling strategy, data were collected from four poor slum zones within Kampala city. Through purposive sampling, 26 deprived slum dwelling children aged between 7 and 15 years, who were willing to take part in the study, were asked to share their stories regarding their experiences of urban poverty using drawings, and generating narratives about them. Data analysis was done using a participatory design of the code-book, drawing visualization, and analysis. Some verbatim statements were also picked directly from raw data and used to strengthen this analysis and reporting. Children were well conversant with the problem of urban child poverty based on its causes, manifestations, and effects. Children expressed that urban child poverty was linked to domestic violence, lack of parental care, chronic sickness, orphanhood, and the absence of child support services in the community. Effects of urban poverty included the inability to use medical facilities, lack of access to information, ill health, coping with street life through violence, poor shelter, overcrowding, lack of social capital, and being excluded from basic decision-making processes at all levels. There is also a need to build on the available child rights initiatives in urban areas and elsewhere as a means to reduce these urban distortions. Continuous investment in research to present the different experiences of urban vulnerable groups should also be done to underpin evidence-based urban programming.