What type of social development work have you undertaken?

I have been involved in providing parenting counselling to parents at an NPO (The Parent Centre, Wynberg, CPT. Counselling and Supervision). I have also provided supervision to social workers employed on a fulltime and sessional basis at this NPO. Parents asking for counselling would only pay a nominal fee for the service or not pay if they were unemployed.

Is the work that you have described in Question 1 ongoing or do you do it as a project or as and when you have time?

I was “employed” on a sessional basis, generally 1 full day per week to provide counselling and supervision for 3 years which came to an end stage 5 Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, I attended group supervision and organizational meetings. Any payment was on an honorary basis (a minimal fee for counselling and supervision time, no fee for cancelled sessions and no fee for all the additional meetings and managing additional administrative tasks).

What is the work that you would like to highlight?

I co-founded an NPO organisation that provides fully funded equine assisted therapy programmes to women who have been exposed to trauma and abuse, to youths who are in residential care and who have suffered trauma, abuse, neglect and struggle with behavioural issues, and forensic male psychiatric patients at Valkenberg Hospital. The organisation also provides individual and family funded equine assisted therapy sessions for those in need and who cannot afford the therapy when funding is available.

We have also developed a caring for the caregivers programme which is a fully funded programme that provides psychosocial support to those in the caring professions such as SAPS, forensic social workers and social workers and caregivers in various organisations.

Why did you get involved in the project? In other words, why is this type of work important within a societal context?

I have always had a passion for helping people. Over the years, I have found trauma intriguing in terms of mental health and the psychological impact it has on people. Through studying for my Masters in Clinical Social work, I saw how trauma can impact people. Not only people directly but also indirectly. I felt an urgency to be able to offer a service to those who are in need.

In our society, in South Africa, we have so many communities suffering all kinds of trauma and we, at The Equinox Trust, found that the model of therapy of working with horses to alleviate trauma really empowers change not only for those who have directly suffered trauma, but the change filters through to those closely associated with clients who have experienced our therapy.

How do you believe that your specific skill set (or experience) helps in this particular project/sector/work?

Having specialised in a model of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, Therapy and Learning and with my psychodynamic training as a clinical social worker I believe that what we offer in our therapeutic model can create powerful, life changing experiences for those people who are most in need. The founding of The Equinox Trust is based on providing a unique and powerful therapeutic service to those communities that are in need and who suffer from trauma.

If other people were interested in getting involved, what do you believe the most important skill set is that you should have to work in this sector?

Compassion, a passion for helping those who are less fortunate or in need and an understanding of horses and the healing qualities they provide.

Are there other areas, perhaps distinct from this project, in which you feel you have played a pioneering role that is perhaps unusual for a social worker or that has expanded the role of social work?

Directly related to the work I do, I have pioneered, along with my colleagues, bringing Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, Therapy and Learning to the NGO space of therapeutic services offered in South Africa, as well as getting social workers recognised in the clinical space.

I have been the Western Cape Coordinator for our particular modal that we specialise in, which is founded and based in America, and have enabled those social workers who are trained in the model to gain CPD points with SACSSP through our networking groups thus creating awareness and recognition for this kind of specialisation.

With my colleague, we have pioneered a programme with the Valkenberg Forensic Psychiatric Unit that is one of the few in the world that is working with our model of therapy and psychiatric patients.

Where can we find more information?

www.equinoxtrust.org

Why did you get involved in the project? In other words, why is this type of work important within a societal context?

We stay in a very old suburb, now referred to a ‘first neighbourhood’ due to its proximity to the CBD. The boundary between us is no more than the railway line! We see a number of poor people and homeless people begging at street corners, at shops, at our doors and on rubbish collection days when they scour the bins for material that can be recycled. Most residents would not dare set foot in the CDB and vacillate between feeling threatened and irritated by these people to being genuinely concerned but not sure how to respond. My idea was to create awareness of the resources that are available in the CBD, so that we can connect people to them, and also encourage our residents to support these resources in a range of ways. Along the way we became aware of a recycling buy-back depot close to us run by an NGO. They are focused on making their project sustainable and aren’t able to address the personal, family and training needs of the informal recyclers.

How do you believe that your specific skill set (or experience) helps in this particular project/sector/work?

It starts with an orientation, fundamental to my identity as a social worker and ethics practitioner, of seeing all these people as having human dignity and should therefore be treated with respect. Also, to acknowledge our privilege as middle-class citizens and that we can play a role in supporting the personal and economic development of these people.

I’ve been able to use my ability to network to draw in another organisation that focuses more on the personal development of people on the streets and also to become familiar what is taking place at a national policy level regarding informal recyclers and how we can see our efforts as a part of that.

If other people were interested in getting involved, what do you believe the most important skill set is that you should have to work in this sector?

An understanding of the opportunities that the project presents. There are risks – many residents regard informal recyclers as a serious security threat, but I believe these can be managed and that we can’t isolate ourselves from this reality. So there is a need for the ability to see the bigger picture, to see our community as part of that and for organising skills.

Are there other areas, perhaps distinct from this project, in which you feel you have played a pioneering role that is perhaps unusual for a social worker or that has expanded the role of social work?

Since 2000, through an NGO the Restorative Justice Centre (www.rjc.co.za ) I’ve actively promoted the use of restorative justice as an additional response to crime, violence and conflict. While there are organisations such as Nicro and Khulisa that have also done this, I think my unique contribution was to position restorative justice as a development in criminal justice theory and as a more useful way of thinking about and responding to issues of conflict, violence and crime.

At present we do this the following programmes:

In the past year I was able to publish 2 op-eds about this (including a proposal to the Zondo Commission on the debate about amnesty for people involved in state capture) in DM and SpotlightAfrica:

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/mike-batley/

https://spotlight.africa/author/mike-batley/

Why did you get involved in the project?

This is a powerful intervention that offers assistance, comfort, and compassion to survivors dealing with their experience and the problems that arise as a result of it.

How do you believe that your specific skill set (or experience) helps in this particular project?

I am passionate about social work and consider it both a profession and a calling. Despite the fact that I am highly motivated and involved in a range of tasks, I am only fully fulfilled when I know I am assisting others and making a difference in their lives. With over ten years of social work experience, I believe my knowledge, attitudes, and skillset is valuable to this endeavour.

Are there other areas, perhaps distinct from this project,  in which you feel you have played a pioneering role that has expanded the role of social work?

It’s important for me to explain my involvement as a board member of #SWAG (Social Work Advocacy Group). This social work activism group aims to invigorate, modernize, and inspire inexperienced social workers to achieve success in their employment. We concentrate on increasing business acumen, social worker skill sets, and professional value. SWAG champions causes and fights injustice but they are also activists at heart.