Certificate No.

AJA19-0226
Chapter 3: Sector-based Client Population and Types of Organization

Objectives:

 Discuss the features of the various sectoral population;

 Identify oneself in the specific field of interest in social work settings; and
 Familiarize with the different organizations that social workers work with.

Introduction:

Part of overcoming adversity is having the presence of mind and the resources available to
transcend one‟s circumstances. This is at the heart of social work: finding resource
disparities common to vulnerable populations and reducing them as much as possible on
either a case-by-case basis or a much broader scale. --- Social Work Degree Center

Main Content:

Sector-Based Client Population

3.1 OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS

a. Overseas- Relating to a foreign country, especially one across the sea.

b. Migration- It is the movement by people from one place to another with the intention of
settling. There are kinds of family that one of their members are in overseas which is called
the OFW or the whole family members are overseas which is called migration or they are the
migrated families.

c. Issues within Overseas Family

OFW

• PROBLEM SOLVING CONFLICTS WITHIN THE FAMILY

Constant and open communication with the spouse and children back home is crucial in
avoiding family and marital problems.

Both parties must make it part of their regular schedule to communicate with one another.

It is very important to keep a persistent communication with your family who is overseas in
order to avoid conflict and misunderstanding. Sometimes, misunderstandings arise because
of the lack of communication.

• EXTRA – MARITAL RELATIONSHIPS

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This happens for a multitude of reasons but most common is the OFW‟s inability to cope with
homesickness and loneliness.

Extra marital relationship is very common nowadays with OFWs. Because of loneliness and
homesickness, they either divert their attention to working or to someone.

• BROKEN FAMILY

Separated by long distances between OFWs and their spouses and children sometimes is a
recipe for broken marriage and misguided lives.

Because they are separated with their family, misunderstandings happen and usually there
is extra – marital relationship. This may cause to separation of the married couple and
eventually lead to a broken family.

• CHILDREN FAILING TO FINISH THEIR STUDIES

One big headache for OFWs is when their children fail to finish their studies, whether
impregnated, unwilling to go to school or gone astray by drugs and vices.

Lack of guidance as parents are abroad, children has nobody to lean on when facing
problems and too much influence from peers could lead to cutting classes, and relationships
that lead to teenage pregnancy. Oftentimes, these episodes lead to kids failing to graduate
from college.

3.2 MIGRATED FAMILIES

LANGUAGE BARRIER

Due to a new environment language barrier occurs. Language barriers are the most
common communication barriers which cause misunderstandings and misinterpretations
between people. Which causes slow development and slow adaptation to the environment.

EMPLOYMENT

Because the environment and the setting is new, the family or the parents has difficulty to
find a proper and stable job. It may also cause economic difficulty.

HOUSING

Migration increased the slum areas in cities which increase many problems such as
unhygienic conditions, crime, pollution etc.

3.3 TRANSNATIONAL
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a. What is a transnational family? Families live some or most of the time separated from
each other, yet hold together and create something that can be seen as feeling of collective
welfare, and unity, namely „familyhood‟, even across national boarders. Transnational
families are a new family model which can be characterized by the geographical dispersion
of a family because of the migration of one or more of its members who, nevertheless
continue to keep tight relationships across borders.

b. TRANSNATIONAL SOLIDARITY It is recognized that only financial, emotional and

practical support can be exchanged transnationally, while personal solidarity and
accommodation can only be offered during visits. Transnational Solidarity is defined as a
relation of mutual support. It means that you can one support financially for their needs and
can be exchanged transnationally is emotional attachment.

c. TRANSNATIONAL MOTHERHOOD - It is described as women who work in a foreign

country while their children live in their own country.

d. Children‟s right and children left behind- Longing for parental care for young children, they
see this as an abandonment and not seeing the other side of the picture; it could however
have either a positive or negative effect for the adolescents somewhat happy because of the
material benefits but the painful one is they cannot hide their sadness. The departure of one
or both parents clearly affects children and their development. Children have a different level
of acceptance or tolerance of the situation depending on their “cognitive development. For
young children, they only see migration as a form of abandonment of their parents.

Burden of girl children in performing the “caring” work- Many young adults who have
migrated mothers felt neglected or abandoned. They do not see their fathers as performing
the „caring‟ work in the family, rather they pass over the caring responsibilities to other
women in the family, more often to the eldest daughter.

Confusion over gender boundaries and reversal of gender role- It is unfortunate that
gender boundaries are very much keen on children‟s views on parental migration, “children
of migrant fathers are more likely to say that their father left the Philippines to provide for the
family, whereas children of migrant mothers more commonly claim that their mothers left to
escape poverty.” For the children of these migrant parents, it is normal for them that the
father works to sustain the needs of the family. Unlike the father, mothers are often accused
by their children of abandoning them.
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Developing a consumerist attitude- Most children accept the migration of their parents as
an opportunity to have a better life, they only see the “money equivalent” of migration. As
long as they receive their money regularly, they will be fine. Some children think that they
are well off because of their situation. They spend money not thinking of what their parents
are going through.

Vulnerability to abuses

Vulnerability of children to abuse and violence is one of the worrying aspects of parental
absence. Study shows that among the common form of abuse are verbal, intimidating and
hurting children.

3.4 INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE

a. What is an IDP? It is someone who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains
within his or her country‟s boarder. They are individuals who was forced to flee or evacuate
their home because of a situation though they are just within the country.

b. Who are internally displaced people?

Residents of poor neighborhoods rendered unsafe and uninhabitable, at least temporarily by
the impacts of weather-
to make w

mountainous or arid areas whose land and livelihoods are irrevocably lost

c. Difference between IDP and a refugee? A "refugee" is a person who, "owing to well-
founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a
particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is
unable, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or
who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence
as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it."
Unlike refugees, internally displaced people do not have a special status in international law
with rights specific to their situation. The term "internally displaced person" is merely
descriptive.
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d. Problems encountered by IDPs
homes face an increase in their expenses if they have to rent or buy new accommodation,
which in turn affects the housing market of their host communities.

Running shelters and expanding basic infrastructure in host areas to cover IDPs‟ needs
also has consequences for the budgets of local authorities and humanitarian agencies.

Education - Reduced access to quality education during protracted crises has long-term
consequences for someone‟s future income and economic potential.

- The physical and psychological stress of the events that cause displacement and
displacement itself have short and long term consequences for IDPs‟ ability to contribute
economically.

Security- IDPs in general, and women, children, older people, those with disabilities and
other minority groups in particular, are at higher risk of violence during displacement.
Ensuring their safety requires dedicated resources from public authorities and
humanitarians. IDPs‟ arrival in host communities may also increase tensions and violence,
placing an extra burden on security forces

Environment - Being displaced from one‟s habitual place of residence also means being
uprooted from one‟s familiar ecosystem and natural resources. This is particular detrimental
to indigenous communities whose lives and livelihoods are closely linked to their
environment. Displacement can also lead to natural resource depletion and increased
pollution in transit and host areas.

3.5 FARMERS

They are the rural counterpart of the urban poor. They consists of the small farmers,
fisherfolk, farmworkers, and other engaged in similar occupations. The Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Law defines a farmer, thus: A natural person whose primary livelihood is
cultivation of land or the production of agricultural crops, either by himself or primarily with
the assistance of his immediate farm household, whether the land is owned by him, or by
another person under a leasehold or share tenancy agreement or arrangement with the
owner thereof:
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A farmworker, on the other hand, is a natural person who renders service for value as an
employee or laborer in an agricultural enterprise or farm regardless of whether his
compensation is paid on a daily, weekly, monthly, or “pakyaw” basis.

Important issues/concerns faced by the rural poor:

1. Agrarian Dispute. The term refers to any controversy relating to tenurial

arrangements, whether leasehold, tenancy, etc. over lands devoted to agriculture,
including disputes concerning farmworkers associations or representation of persons
in negotiating, fixing, maintaining, changing or seeking to arrange terms or conditions
of such tenurial arrangements.
2. Condition of landlessness. Despite the Agrarian Reform, the past land reform
program in the country, the farmers and fisherfolk have not really been benefited fully
to say that they have become landowners themselves. Land owners continue to
enjoy ownership of big tracts of land depriving the farmers of the opportunity to
acquire a piece of land for their own. A farmer is considered landless if he owns less
than three hectares of agricultural land.
3. Extreme Poverty. Agrarian problems usually affect the productivity of the land
resulting in extreme poverty of the tenant. This poverty forces the farmers to borrow
money from other persons, or even from the bank, as provided by the present
agrarian reform program, leaving the farmers indebted and often unable to pay the
same considering high interest rates in the lending program of the banks, or the
usurious interests imposed by private lenders. The farmers sink deeper financially
until they settle down upon the rock bottom of the subsistence.
4. Land use conversion
5. Environmental decay that limits production
6. High cost of production that makes local products less competitive in the market
7. Inadequate rural infrastructure like roads to market, post-harvest facilities, irrigation
8. Natural disasters

3.6 URBAN POOR

They compose the socially and economically disadvantaged families who find themselves
living in the slum areas of the metropolis. More popularly known to other as “squatters” they
are often migrants from the rural areas who have ventured to look for jobs in the city. Their
limited education, training and skills made them vulnerable to the cut-throat competition in
the labor field, they find themselves and their families often without a job, or employed in
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manual low-paying jobs. The most common problems or issues faced by the urban poor are
the following:

1.) The elusive dream of gainful employment which is characterized by Unemployment

and Underemployment. But are common forms of social problem and considered as
social and economic phenomena worldwide, however, they are not synonymous.
Unemployment may be defined as a situation in which persons desiring to work
cannot find jobs. It is, therefore, an involuntary idleness on the part of those who
failed to find employment or who have lost their latest jobs, but are able to work and
are looking for work causes of unemployment include:
 Increased population- causing increased labor force that far exceeds the
number of jobs available;
 Automation- in many industries that calls for less workers and make certain
job skills obsolete;
 Recession- leads to reduced production and even close shops;
 No security of tenure for casual employees/workers- making them vulnerable
to lay-off during a retrenchment since they are less skilled and less educated;
 Seasonal demand for certain goods and services- causes inevitable lay off of
workers at certain period of the year.
2.) Acute Housing Problem- because of the inability of the government to provide
families into the property (private or public) of another, building their houses on said
property, without the owner‟s permit.
3.) Economic Deprivation- often used interchangeably with poverty, this situation is
characterized by the inability of families to meet their basic needs mainly due to very
low income vis-à-vis high prices of basic goods and services. Sociologically
speaking, the situation is rooted in the unequal distribution of wealth widening income
gap between the rich and the poor. One major result of this is the lower life
expectancy or a growing mortality rate among the poor.
4.) Forced eviction and distant relocation- that does not allow the urban poor to exploit
their economic potentials.
5.) Family Disintegration (Or Breakdown)- it is one of the manifold problems if the
Filipino family that is characterized by physical dissolution and total disbanding of
family ties as a result of desertion, separation, infidelity of one of the spouses or both,
and similar actions. The social environment of urban poor does not provide a
wholesome atmosphere for enhancement of moral values. The absence of both
parents who have to work from daybreak to late evening, depriving the children of
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parental guidance, make the children vulnerable to the influence of prohibited drugs,
vices, and other unwholesome activities.
6.) Lack of access to basic services

3.7 TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS WE WORK WITH

Organization is defined as a social unit of people that is structured and managed to meet
a need or to pursue collective goals. All organizations have a management structure that
determines relationships between the different activities and the members, and subdivides
and assigns roles, responsibilities, and authority to carry out different tasks. Organizations
are open systems--they affect and are affected by their environment. As a social workers, we
work with different types of organizations which are the following:

1. Local Government Unit - an administrative and political government unit subsidiary to

the national government which could itself consist of sub-units as in the case of a
province or a municipality. Provinces and independent cities are organized into
national government regions but those are administrative regions and not separately
governed areas with their own elected governments. According to the Constitution of
the Philippines, the local governments "shall enjoy local autonomy", and in which the
Philippine president exercises "general supervision". Congress enacted the Local
Government Code of the Philippines in 1991 to "provide for a more responsive and
accountable local government structure instituted through a system of
decentralization with effective mechanisms of recall, initiative, and referendum,
allocate among the different local government units their powers, responsibilities, and
resources, and provide for the qualifications, election, appointment and removal,
term, salaries, powers and functions and duties of local officials, and all other matters
relating to the organization and operation of local units." Usually, social workers who
are employed by their local government units specifically by the C/MSWDO
(City/Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office) provide services and help
Filipinos in their local government units like Barangay, Provinces, and cities in all
areas in the Philippines.
2. Non-Government Organizations - private organizations that pursue activities to
relieve suffering, promote the interests of the poor, protect the environment, provide
basic social services, or undertake community development (World Bank, 2001). The
United Nations (2003) describes an NGO as any non-profit, voluntary citizens' group
which is organized on a local, national or international level. Task-orientated and
driven by people with a common interest, NGOs perform a variety of services and
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humanitarian functions, bring citizens' concerns to Governments, monitor policies
and encourage political participation at the community level (Lewis, 2000). They
provide analysis and expertise, serve as early warning mechanisms, and help
monitor and implement international agreements. Some are organized around
specific issues, such as human rights, the environment or health. Some of the NGOs
that employ social workers are the following:
a. Childhope Philippines Foundation, Inc.
b. Save the Children
c. PLAN International
d. Philippine Red Cross
e. World Vision
f. Coalition of Services of the Elderly
g. SOS Philippines
h. Terre Des Hommes Netherlands
3. Government Organizations - a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the
machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of
specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. A government agency may be
established by either a national government or a state government within a federal
system. The term is not normally used for an organization created by the powers of a
local government body. Agencies can be established by legislation or by executive
powers. The autonomy, independence and accountability of government agencies
also vary widely. In the Philippines, the Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD) is widely known for employing social workers.
4. Civil Society Organizations – these are the non-State, not-for-profit, voluntary entities
formed by people in the social sphere that are separate from the State and the
market. CSOs represent a wide range of interests and ties. They can include
community-based organizations as well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
In the context of the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework, CSOs do not
include business or for-profit associations. The more established national networks
and coalitions of CSOs include the following:
a. Association of Foundations (AF)
b. National Council of Social Development (NCSD)
c. Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP)
d. Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM)
e. Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development
(ANGOC)
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5. People’s Organizations - independent, bonafide associations of citizens with
demonstrated capacity to promote the public interest and with identifiable leadership,
membership and structure. Unlike NGOs, they are established by and represent
sectors of the population like small farmers, artisanal fisher folk, slum dwellers and
others.

Assessment:

Read each instruction carefully and do this on a yellow paper. Write your COMPLETE
NAME, SECTION, AND COURSE. Please write legibly.

Research on your community regarding the different existing sectoral problems and fill in the
table accordingly.

Sector-Based Client Issue/Problem Name/ Type of Organization

Population (Where to address the
problem/issue)

List down all the existing Enumerate as many as you Research on the available
sector(s) in your community. can. existing
Organizations/Agencies