A Social Worker Father

By Zheng-Yi Chang

It has been two years since I first started working here as a social worker. To be honest, I wasn’t so sure if I am suitable to work with teenagers although it’s something I’ve always desired. But I thought I needed to have a job and I took it.
The kids I have worked with during the past two years made me realize how extraordinary but not widely appreciated and recognized social work is. The achievement of a social worker cannot be graded like school papers nor can it be profited like sold merchandise. It is far more complicated than that. 
A one-day orientation was held for new workers. Chiefs from every department got on stage and described and explained enthusiastically of their duties here, but it was very difficult for me to memorize all of it and my mind was becoming kind of fuzzy. And then the general director came on stage as asked us a question that stuck with me ever since. She said, “Do any of you know who is our boss here?”  I never thought of this and had no idea who is the boss of us here. Some answered “CEO”, some said “The board of Directors”, some said “fund donors”. At the end, the director revealed the answer with a big smile on her face, “The kids!” Yes! Of course! If it weren’t for the kids, we wouldn’t be here now.   
For some reasons, what the director said deeply influenced my work attitude. The kids I worked with were no longer a bunch of immature unruly teenagers and they deserved my respect and understanding as an individual human being.
Compared to other units, social workers at the Placement unit have more time to spend with the kids. To these kids that lives without a functional family, our roles were more like family than social workers to them. At least this is what I expected myself to be.
Wynn is a very active high school kid and was abandoned at birth. When the school handed him an invitation for open house and asked him to invite his parents to attend, the invitation ended up in my hands. It would be my first time to appear in school events as a parent.
During the open house, Wynn’s math teacher addressed me as Wynn’s father and asked me if Wynn is as hyper and active at home. Without thinking twice and without correcting her, I answered as Wynn’s father that Wynn is very active at home as well and how much I adore him being active all the time. And then without warning, I cried and thought to myself this is what being a father feels like. The kids we care for here are basically orphans and at some levels, we are more of a parent or maybe the only parent to them than anyone else in this world. 
I know for a fact that we have very limited ability to be their father or mother however hard we try, and I often feel guilty about how reckless I was when I decided to take this job without knowing what a big responsibility this job is given. 
For the past two years, I have come to realize this is not just a job but also a very important journey that holds significance to me. This journey allowed me to understand God’s fatherly love. This is my first and last job. I do it with all my heart and soul hoping to be a part of this family and a parent the kids can depend on.