“𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 (𝘊𝘐𝘚) 𝘪𝘴 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦.”

Ms. Jennylou B. Barrameda, longest CIS employee in service, reminisced about her journey after 14 years of service (11 years as a Social Worker) in the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office V-Bicol Region, particularly in Crisis Intervention Section (CIS).

Though she admitted that finding her true purpose was a roller coaster ride.

She finished her Bachelor of Science in Social Work degree in 2009, and in the same year she got her licensed and became a Registered Social Worker. However, due to her self-doubt and self-distrust, she purposely did not show up to her supposedly first social work-related job.

“𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘐 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘹 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 – 𝘏𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦,” she said.

In 2011, while Jennylou was applying as an enumerator in DSWD Bicol, she met her former classmate, who encouraged her to apply as Social Welfare Assistant (SWA) under the Disaster Monitoring Crisis Intervention Section (DMCIS).

“𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘚𝘞𝘈, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵. 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 3 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵𝘴 – 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘳 𝘐𝘐,” she disclosed.

Jennylou believed that being a social worker does not end after working hours – it is a profession and a practice that extends beyond formal job settings.

During the interview, she shared one of the memorable cases she handled, “𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺, 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦; 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 ‘𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳.’ 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨.”

“𝘛𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘺,” she added.

The redirection she experienced has become her new sense of motivation. The positive feedback and its impact on the clients’ lives made her excited, happy, and more passionate about her job.

Social work is not just a profession — it’s a calling. Jennylou understood that to truly bring about change, to uplift the well-being of communities, and to stand firm in the fight for social justice, healthcare, and human rights, a social worker must have more than just knowledge or skill — they must have a heart that is willing to serve.

The focalship she handled, particularly the Relief Distribution List Liquidation for Disaster Response and Operations, and People Living with HIV (PLHIV) has taught her the importance of immediate response, and the essence of compassionate service.

“𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘓𝘏𝘐𝘝 𝘍𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘮𝘢, 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦,” Jennylou said.

The emotional support that Jennylou has given to each of her clients has left a remarkable change to their lives, and those progress became the reason for her growth.

As an individual who used to have self-doubts, the everyday challenges in DSWD had been a constant reminder that she is strong and capable. From being shy she turned out to be a good communicator, and an effective social worker.

“𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯-𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘴 [𝘮𝘪𝘥-𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘴] 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘚𝘞𝘋 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 – 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳.” ##