Decolonising social work through learning from experiences of older women and social policy makers in Uganda

This chapter reflects on the colonialism of social work practice and education, in a Ugandan context, and the need for genuine decolonisation. This colonialism resulted in social work practice that was not suited to the context and did not connect with the lived experience of the people whom social workers were seeking to serve. Colonialism is also seen in policy and program development which suits the needs of funders and Western consultants, rather than the people for whom the program is defined. The SAGE program (Social Assistance Grant for Empowerment) in Uganda is presented a case study of such colonial practice. The chapter reports the findings of research with older women in Uganda that recognises their traditional community-based practices as a more grounded form of social work. It points towards two important directions for decolonising practice in the African context: ideas of community-based mutual helping, and the practice/living of obuntu. These decolonising approaches can be applied not only to African social work, but also to social work education in the West, especially where international students are undertaking social work education programs.