Assessment of the Roles of Social Workers in Poverty Alleviation in Kisiwani Ward in Same District, Kilimanjaro Region.

The main objective of this study was to assess the roles of social workers in poverty alleviation in Kisiwani ward in Same District, Kilimanjaro region. In order to achieve these goals, three key specific objectives were developed to guide this study. These were to identify the contributions of social workers in poverty alleviation, to examine challenges facing social workers in poverty alleviation and to identify measures taken to address challenges facing social workers in poverty alleviation. The research questions included; what are the contributions of social workers in poverty alleviation, what are the challenges facing social workers towards poverty alleviation and what are the measures taken to for address challenges facing social workers towards poverty alleviation in Kisiwani ward. Data collection instruments were; questionnaire, interviews, direct observation and document review. The study had a sample size of 82 respondents. The study adopted case study research design. The study found that the contributions of social workers are:- they raise awareness to human right for women, widow and children, they providing education for community on how to tackle problems which lead to poverty, encouraging people to be hardworking and also they link people with development stake holders . Moreover, the study reveals that the challenges facing social workers are: - low understanding capacity of community members, ignorance of the villagers about responsibilities of social workers, shift of clients from one place to unknown places and insufficient information from society and their leaders. Furthermore the study identifies measures to reduce the challenges. These are:- to encourage more people to join the professionalism, to encourage community to form groups and to provide seminars and workshops on income generating from different facilitators and local leaders to cooperate with social workers. The study recommended that: Social work’s social justice mission should be to advocate for opportunities for all people to be independent, participate in and take control of, and responsibility for, their own destinies