Publications from ODSW Social Insights: Letters by DSW (Vol 2) | Page 128

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these services as social utilities that are available to all people and groups as
the rights of citizens. In addition, social welfare services may meet specialized
needs or address the unique problems of particular groups of people.
Ideally, social welfare responds by providing adequate income, housing,
education, health care and personal safety. The beneficiaries of social welfare
are not restricted to any one group of people. Social welfare provides benefits
for the whole population. Some examples include education services and
Singapore’s distinctive Central Provident Fund (CPF) system and education
targeted at everyone. This frame of reference suggests that users of public
utility services, including social welfare, are citizens with rights rather than
people who are deprived, deviant, helpless and stigmatized.
Social work has have been summarily described as key to social welfare by
being agents for helping the distressed, disadvantaged, disabled, deviant
or dependent and it influences changes in systems to promote safety and
help individuals realise their potential. Social work therefore has significant
contributions to the soul of nation building through intervening in policies,
programmes and services that promote the welfare and well-being of
people.
Singapore’s strategy towards nation building was centred largely on the
establishment of a legitimate authority and the creation of a national
identity. This embodied the need for effective and efficient government,
and the creation of new “national” values. Specifically, nation building
embodied material and utilitarian concerns of administration and resource
control, and the development of a collective identity (and values) that would
enable individuals to associate with the state. Singapore’s first priority focus
was on the ability to protect and develop one’s resources and then grow
economically to progress as a nation. While these aspects of nation building
are important, they alone do not create the soul of a nation. Military and
economic capability to defend one’s country and a closely knit society are
instrumental in making a nation viable but not sufficient.
Social work’s contribution to nation building may be understood in terms of
how it has contributed and can contribute to the building of the soulful part
of the nation. It played a defining role in influencing the structure for the
protection of the vulnerable in society and in attending to the social needs
of its people. These could be seen in the areas of protection of children,
women and girls since the early days, the care of children and those who
are disadvantaged, and the rehabilitation of those who are involved in social
ills or have committed offences. Social work was instrumental in advocating
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