You have to learn to be around different people

Social workers’ roles are as diverse as the numerous needs of a given community. You are likely to find them in the health sector, education sector, community justice and so many other diverse areas where people depend on their services to achieve development. One of them is Oliver Karambizi, the outreach and extension officer at Rwanda Library Service. He is always around books, planning how to acquire more of them and make them accessible to all Rwandans and people living in Rwanda. He talked to Education Times’s Collins Mwai to shed more light on his career. Briefly give us a description of your duties and responsibilities at workIt is my office’s role to establish and implement programmes to promote the reading culture in the country. I also oversee creation of sustainable partnerships with well-wishers -mostly foreign embassies and NGOs- to come up with effective programs to promote the reading culture. Amongst my other duties is to ensure smooth running of district community library services countrywide.What training does one require to make it to this kind of career position?I studied Social Economics and History at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the National University of Rwanda (NUR). Do you find academic knowledge gained at the university applicable or do you rely on experience gained on the job?You require both almost equally. At first, you rely on academic knowledge, and then with time, you begin to rely on experience gained while on the job. Any other qualifications that may come in handy for this job?Well you should be multilingual with the ability to communicate in different languages since you work with people from diverse backgrounds. Creativity and ability to build around ideas comes in handy for you to plan for project implementation. You also should be sociable and open minded. Social work involves working with people, the better you get along with them, the better for your career.What are the best moments in the occupation? I get to meet a lot of people from different countries and backgrounds; I network with them and learn so much from each of them. Through working with various partners, I get to learn new work systems and different ways of doing things. Sometimes I also get to travel to different part of the world and as well within this country. My office is a literally a library that allows me a lot of access to information. What are the emerging trends in this line of work?Everything is going digital with technological advancements but we have not been left behind. There is less paperwork than there was a while ago. We also use project management templates to plan and implement projects; nowadays they are better and are more effective.Any low moments or challenges in this job?It is challenging working with undecided development partners and slow community managers. My job involves long hours and at times you don’t have enough family time.How does one advance to higher levels in this line of work? Is it by experience or by further studies?Mostly you advance according to the experience you have accumulated over time, but t is always good to have an advanced level of education when that chance comes.How many hours a day do you have to put in at this job?I generally work from 8am to 8pm. Most branches of social work involve working long hours. But it is not always that I spend the whole day in the office, I move around a lot meeting partners or inspecting projects.What would make one fail in this job? There are several things that may make one fail but lack of creativity and being unable to come up with ideas on project implementation are some of the worst traits you can bring to this job. People who are not sociable or lack team spirit find the job dull and don’t last long. You have to learn to be around different people.Advice to anyone interested in the the occupation?Anyone interested in pursuing a career as a social worker has to know that they should be flexible like a chameleon. How well you can adapt to your immediate environment matters a lot. It determines how well you will perform on the job. You should be comfortable and be effective in an isolated remote village and at the same time be comfortable amongst ambassadors and diplomats.