CECPES Graduates 12th Batch of Social Workers, 7th Batch of CPE Students
The management of the Center of Clinical Pastoral Education and Social Services (CECPES) and Community Counseling Clinic (CCC) has been congratulated variously for their innovation and resilience in training social workers and pastors with clinical skills to meet the challenges of the times.
The commendations were made by the dignitaries who addressed the audience on November 18, 2023, at the Baptist Center Conference Hall in Bamenda during the graduation of the 12th batch of social workers and the 7th batch of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) students. The training of the social workers lasted for nine months (February to November) while that of the CPE lasted for three months. The training comprised both theory and practicum in the field.
Presenting the 30 graduating social workers and 4 CPE pastors, Rev. Mbuh Julius, Director of CECPES/CCC said they were well-trained to go out and impact society. He disclosed that this batch of social workers is the first set of students to work on a new report content for project writing which was a blend of research and report writing, geared toward an investigation and intervention approach put in place by the faculty. This new component, according to the Director, led to an increase in the number of faculty members and attracted quality students, one of them being a PhD fellow, Mr. Vuwesi Gabriel who testified that CECPES has redefined his perspective of life.
Rev. Mbuh paid tributes to the Mezam Divisional Delegation of Social Affairs ‘which granted us the opportunity to partner with the Ministry of Social Affairs in training our students’. The students carried out practicum in the Divisional Delegation of Social Affairs and her social centers for the first phase (six weeks) and then, in the hospitals and other non-governmental organizations for another six weeks. The representative of Mezam Divisional Delegation of Social Affairs congratulated CECPES on behalf of her Delegate and the Honorable Minister of Social Affairs for resilience in training social workers with the required skills needed in the current context. The delegate’s representative assured CECPES of her Ministry’s continuous support.
The Deputy Director of Health Services for Administration and Finance (DDAF), Mr. Warri Denis, and the Administrative Assistant to the CBC Executive President (EP) took turns to congratulate the students for braving it the training. The EP’s emissary charged the 30 social workers and four pastors not to depend on their certificates from the training but to prove their new skills through the impact they will make in touching and healing arching lives.
Four students gave reflections on how the training at CECPES transformed them. Meanwhile, the class coordinator, Martial Ekwille Eko on behalf of his colleagues, promised to put into practice what they have learned. “We should not forget the oath we took to uphold the principles of the social work profession anywhere we find ourselves in helping the vulnerable,” the class coordinator admonished. Relatives, friends, CECPES lectures, CBC Director of Youth and Students Ministry, and other
leaders from the CBC Health Services Central Administration and Nkwen Baptist Hospital witnessed the colorful ceremony during which the students were clad in the newly acquired graduation robes for CECPES.