Martha Burke, LICSW received a gift from Visiting Scholar Vicky Tojin. BWH?s Department of Social Work chose resiliency as their theme this year, so it?s fitting that Social Work and Care Coordination invited Vicky Tojin, a Guatemalan social worker and civil war refugee who embodies the definition of resiliency, to spend a week as a visiting scholar this May. Tojin was born to Mayan parents in Guatemala at the start of the civil war, which would go on to claim over 200,000 lives, mostly Mayan, over a 36 year period. In response, she devoted herself to learning how she could support others in their struggle to heal from trauma. Toojin at work in Guatemala. Tojin works for a non-profit called Common Hope, which provides health care, housing, education and other support services for families in need who reside in pueblos around Antigua, about 1 hour from Guatemala City. The core of Common Hope is social work visits, with the broad goal of promoting hope for the future in children. During her visit, Tojin spent the week with BWHers in a range of practices, services and clinics across the hospital and in our community health centers. Tojin felt the most impressive aspect of BWH was the sense of hope brought to the patients by the care teams. She appreciated the multidisciplinary team structure, and how different professions truly collaborated in caring for patients. During her visit, Tojin delivered a talk about her experiences as a social worker in Guatemala, sharing her approach to social work based on peace and compassion. Leaving her presentation, BWH social workers experienced a sense of connection with their Guatemalan colleagues and the shared social work values they have in common, and also felt grateful for the tremendous resources available to help BWH patients. As she returns to Guatemala, Tojin hopes that the quick communication she saw between team members about clients in danger can be replicated in her setting. And at BWH, the hum has begun as we contemplate how next to create more valuable exchanges with social workers practicing in different cultural settings across the globe.
