President Mandela poses a challenge for social workers and educators with his call to heal old wounds and build a new South Africa. This paper focuses on the identification and development of the internal resources which need to be mobilised for this process: spiritual commitment; experiences of suffering; and interconnectedness with others. These issues were investigated with social work students. The fmdings have shown that students are committed to values of justice, compassion and hope, and have a profound sense of interconnectedness with others. This can be explained by notions of personhood (botholubuntu) in Africa. This has implications regarding what is taught and how it is taught; the kinds of relationships social work educators have with their students and how they assist students through their educational journey; and the contributions social work educators themselves make to the development of justice and peace.
Read
