Practicing Social Work in Rural Ghana — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Practicing Social Work in Rural Ghana

Name: Kathryn Denton
Major: Social Work
Hometown: Greenwood
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Senior thesis

Abstract

While completing 500 hours of field work for my BSW, I was able to discover the major problems that were affecting rural villages in Ghana, Africa. Main problems found include: a rise in teen pregnancy, sanitation hazards, and lack of education on mental illness. These problems were determined through daily footwork of walking from village to village and interacting with community members. I completed a Community Assessment Survey which highlighted the above problems as key issues affecting the communities. During this experience I wrote weekly logs for my professor on what I accomplished that week and wrote in a personal journal everyday to reflect and capture all the moments. The purpose of my poster will be to inform others on both the hardships and strengths of these villagers and to educate people of projects and educational talks that I completed. In addition I will also discuss the awareness I gained from living with limited access to clean water, power and becoming the minority. I gained important insights on not imposing my American values and beliefs on the communities I worked with. Not only do I have a deeper understanding of this culture, but also a deeper appreciation to hold all cultures and their beliefs in high esteem.

Poster file