‘Where We Stay’ (Shannon McClenaghan)
‘Where we stay’ reflects on the quiet work of building community through presence in social work. It explores how connection is created not through perfection or expertise but by choosing to remain in difficult moments with honesty are care despite our own experiences. It’s ultimately a poem about the power of showing up.
I didn’t arrive polished, certain, or whole,
I came with lived chapters stitched into my soul.
With questions that lingered, with doubts that would rise,
With truths I’ve carried behind glistening eyes.
I once thought connection was something you prove,
A theory to master, a framework to use.
But community isn’t a badge that we wear,
It’s built in the moments we choose to stay there.
It’s sitting with anger, with silence, with fear,
Not fixing too quickly, but choosing to hear.
It’s holding the space when the story feels raw,
And leading with mercy as well as the law.
It’s knowing that strength doesn’t mean standing apart,
But showing up fully, with head and with heart.
Not shrinking your history, not hiding your scars,
But drawing from them as you sit where they are.
Connection is quiet. It won’t make a sound.
It grows in the places where honesty’s found.
In rooms where we say, “You are safe. You belong.”
And prove it by staying steady and strong.
That is the work.
That is where we stay.
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‘I Am Who I Am, Because We Are’
A poem by Ifeanyi Eze-Onumah (Social Work MSc Student at Brunel University)
My poem is based on a paper I wrote about Ubuntu. Within the paper, I wrote about Ubuntu and its potential application within U.K. Social Work.
I am because we are,
That is what I was taught,
A philosophy of the people that care,
A reminder of values we share,
Ubuntu speaks of love and grace,
In collaboration with each other,
No matter the time and space,
No matter the race, we share the same face,
But walk the halls of social work,
Within the U.K. framework,
And suddenly the language,
Does not sound the same,
Care plans, laws and policies,
Guidelines from the start,
Bureaucratic systems built on individuals,
Not necessarily always on the heart,
However, the heart of social work,
If we dare to look beneath the scar,
Has always known this simple truth…
I am who I am, because we are.
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Sam Mathias
Year 2 Student Swansea
In every story shared, a bridge begins to grow,
A quiet thread of understanding starts to show.
We gather not as strangers, but as voices intertwined—
A tapestry of courage, woven one heart at a time. In the spaces where we listen, where every truth can stand,
Community is crafted gently, hand in hand.
Connection isn’t found—it’s something we create,
A shared becoming, shaped by hope, and held by those who relate.
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Oppression, et al. Creating an album for inclUSion
Created by MJ Lace
“Oppression” is a lyrical reflection on being worn down by barriers, and how connection helps us keep going.
It’s about finding dignity, voice, and belonging.
Content note:‼️
This piece discusses oppression and the emotional effects of exclusion. Please listen in a way that feels safe for you.
The Decolonising Social Work Practicum Podcast
Decolonising Social Work Practicum is a podcast that brings together students, educators, and practitioners to reflect on how colonial legacies continue to shape social work plactice learning in the United Kingdom.
It began with a rigorous scoping review by our international team and aims to open space for honest conversations that often fall outside lectures or placement reviews. Across the series, we speak with people from around the world who bring lived experience, critical insight, and bold ideas.
Episodes explore power, identity, resistance and change while offering space to reflect, be challenged, and imagine new possibilities for social work education.
The series ensures active participation by our student co-hosts Tina Odu and Eleanor Hogan, who share their questions and reflections at the beginning and end of each episode.
This international project is co-produced through a decolonising lens, actively centering diverse voices and lived experiences to challenge conventional knowledge hierarchies. Funded by the European Association of Schools of Social Work, it's Led by Assoc. Prof. Henglien Lisa Chen (University of Sussex, UK) & Produced by Mitali Kulkarni.