Inside ECUSTA's Social Work Program
Empowering Communities: Inside ECUSTA's Social Work Program
Social work is a multidisciplinary helping profession, grounded in core values such as service, social justice, dignity, and integrity. At the Ethiopian Catholic Higher Learning Institute (ECUSTA), the Department of Social Work carries these values forward, preparing graduates to serve individuals, families, and communities across Ethiopia and beyond.
A Growing Field in Ethiopian Higher Education
Social Work is currently offered at a select group of public and private universities across Ethiopia. Undergraduate programs in Addis Ababa are concentrated at three institutions: Addis Ababa University (AAU), ECUSTA, and St. Mary's University's St. John Campus.
Postgraduate education in the discipline remains exclusive to AAU, which offers two distinct academic tracks: a regular program with concentrations in Community Development, Health, and Children, Youth, and Family; and an extension program delivering a comprehensive curriculum in General Social Work.
What Social Workers Do
Social workers engage directly with communities, groups, families, and individuals — including children, youth, women, elders, and people with disabilities. Their work spans health, education, refugee camps, orphanages, hospitals, and schools. Beyond direct service, social workers also take part in policy-making and implementation, advocate for the rights of individuals and communities, contribute to justice and corrections systems, and support the parents of children with developmental disabilities.
The ultimate objective of this work is to enhance quality of life across its physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and economic dimensions. In pursuit of this goal, social workers support the efforts of national governments, intergovernmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations alike.
Where Our Graduates Are Today
ECUSTA's Social Work graduates are making their mark both at home and abroad. Several are currently pursuing postgraduate studies at the University of Padova in Italy (Terefech), the University of Melbourne in Australia (Bemnet), and our own national institution, AAU.
Others have gone on to build careers across prominent sectors:
- Government Organizations: Axum University (Amanuel), Zewditu Memorial Hospital (Tirsit), and the Immigration & Citizenship Service (Mahlet)
- International NGOs & Academic Institutions: SOS Children's Villages (Melala & Blen), the Swedish International School (Rediet), MALDE International School (Netsanet), the IL SOLE Association ETS Ethiopia (Daniel), and several other institutions
Compassion in Action
ECUSTA's currently enrolled Social Work students are already putting their training into practice through their own community initiatives. One recent example is #ላልታየችው, a project that collected and redistributed 300 reusable sanitary pads and undergarments to 75 rural female students. You can watch the initiative in action here: #ላልታየችው on YouTube.
From the classroom to the community, ECUSTA's Social Work program continues to shape compassionate, capable professionals ready to meet Ethiopia's evolving social needs — and the world's.
You can read more about the Social Work program at ECUSTA at the following link.