Decolonizing social work requires becoming genuine, returning to one’s cultural roots for direction. Decolonization entails resistance to social work’s ‘West to the Rest’ movement, which seeks to ‘internationalize’ and ‘standardize’ the profession. For social work to be useful in Africa, reorientation of its methods toward facilitating holistic and indigenous intervention is mandatory. This conceptual article analyzes literature on decolonization, indigenous methodology, and social work in Africa, stressing that decolonization of social work requires challenging dominant models of practice and research, while integrating traditional values and practices that have withstood centuries of oppression into culturally consonant forms of service and inquiry.
The World Health Organization reports reveal that the average risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes in sub-Saharan Africa is about 1 in 45 compared to 1 in 5,400 in high-income countries. In Ethiopia, maternal mortality remains a tremendous problem. Several studies associate the high maternal mortality ratio to the widespread practice of home birth, household income, and lack of transportation. Absent from the findings of these studies is any discussion of the sociocultural contexts that might influence maternal health service utilization. Birthing bears cultural significance accompanied by rituals. Thus, any solution to maternal health problems must consider the sociocultural and grassroots context. It is important to learn the needs and priorities of the mothers who are targets of maternal health policies. Using Indigenous approaches, this study examines the gaps in Ethiopian maternal health policies and programs. The study also identifies culturally relevant solutions that address the needs of communities.
Epistemicide is the exclusion or elimination of indigenous knowledge systems at the expense of the imperious, domineering, and colonial knowledge systems. To combat epistemicide in Africa and liberate the minds of the current generation, the authors propose a comprehensive ubuntu based model of education. This model suggests four interrelated strategies of liberation: 1) decolonization, 2) revalorization, 3) revitalization, and 4) construction and creation (DRRC) of knowledge. This chapter examines the contextual and conceptual background of education in Africa through a historical lens, provides a detailed description of the proposed model, and outlines some potential implementation challenges.
Indigenous approaches are crucial for indigenous people across the world including Africans, in assessing the impact of imperialism and its manifestations in colonialism, liberalism, globalization, and Western research. Such approaches acknowledge the fundamental importance of local culture, recognizing that geographical, empirically based knowledge provides culturally appropriate solutions to problems. Indigenous approaches serve as a bridge between policies, interventions, and the grassroots. Social work, as a practice-based profession and an academic discipline, should acknowledge and include indigenous knowledge and methodologies in its curriculum. It is important to empower and provide space and a voice for the grassroots to articulate problems and participate in solving them by sharing their own wisdom and experiences. It is shortsighted and unworkable to rely upon prescribed Western policies and curriculums with the assumption that they will seamlessly transfer to other, fundamentally different, people and cultures. Failing to discard such an "apples to apples approach" will only result in a prolonged failure to adequately address the socioeconomic problems in Sub-Saharan Africa and will only perpetuate the problems associated with imperialism and [neo]colonialism. This chapter provides conceptual definitions to constructs such as decolonization and indigenous knowledge and demonstrates the importance of decolonization and indigenous approaches in social work scholarship and practice as it relates to Africa.
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