Introducing myself and my professional experience as a Social Work Academic and a Social entrepreneur

[DR.J.CHRISTOPHER DANIEL]

I am the founder and Executive Director of Goodwill social work centre,Madurai,India. With my wide academic and professional experience for over 35 years as a Professor of social work and Human resources management at local schools of social work I have trained hundreds of young women and men in professional social work practice,social entrepreneurship,human resources management and NGO management at the post graduate level. As a Social work educator turned Social entrepreneur I was prompted to set up a charity in 1981 to work with children,youth and young women and their families in distress with an aim to apply the ‘Goodwill social work model’ as a practice mode and an approach’which I have developed.

Our flagship programme is the Intensive family preservation programme which has offered family based and children centred services covering over 19775 and 5372 children in dysfunctional families( 1991- -2008).

I have made a significant contribution to humanity at large through my contribution and operation of the Goodwill social work centre which has been working in the areas of children's rights, children’s rights through artwork, Children’s environmental health rights, Intensive family preservation for dysfunctional families, non-formal employment training for youth, humanitarian aid, community technology services, environment education and action, social research, NGO capacity building, Global Links Initiative(UK)’s networking in Tamilnadu(India) and NGO consultancy.Causes supported by the Centre are wide ranging-from social philanthropy to social development in the spirit of the organisation's aims of professionalism based on the principles of scientific humanism in line with the professional social work model in the management of issues concerning children,youth,women,dysfunctional families,NGOs and civil society groups.The Centre is highly professional in its approach and its methods are underpinned by a strong academic research ethos.

My academic teaching and capacity building initiatives for hundreds of my students have provided me with an enriching experience to establish a social enterprise in Madurai,India to practise what I have professed.As the Chief functionary of the organisation I am personally responsible for the organisation's local and international acclaim and achievements. Our flagship programme 'Intensive family preservation project' under the aegis of OZ Child -Children Australia launched in 1991 has.This has resulted in our organisation implanting various development programmes for children,youth and women in dysfunctional families,NGOs and civil society groups in partnership with a number of international funding and networking organisations namely,SIMAVI,The Netherlands,IDRC,Canada,DuPont South Asia Ltd,Madurai,India.,Ministry of Rural Development,Government of India,Jan Shikshan Sansthan,Ministry of HRD,Government of India The Malian Foundation,Australia,Global Links Initiative,United Kingdom,The Funding Network,UK,,For Children Australia Inc,Australia,ART Venture,Singapore and Nature's Voice -Our Choice,USA.

Our centre been declared as one of the four international winners of “Panda IT Aid,2006”, Panda Software International, Spain( http://www.pandasoftware.com) to create community technology centres for over 900 children and young women in low and moderate income families in and around Madurai,India.A corporate funded programme, which is a feather in GOODWILL’s cap!Highly impressed by the professionalism in GOODWILL’s governance and management of programmes,the Global Links Initiative(www.glinet.org) ,a registered company and a charity in the United Kingdom has entered into a partnership agreement with GOODWILL on 6th October 2007 to work together to provide services and capacity building programmes for GLI Networkers in Tamilnadu, now numbering over 370.A stylistically innovative work is the setting up of GLI(UK)'s Tamilnadu Networking Initiative at our centre which has been functioning since 2006 as an outsourcing unit of GLI(UK) 2006. GOODWILL is taking o the role of GLI representative and ambassador in serving the needs of GLI networkers and local NGOs in Tamilnadu,India.Part of its role is to take over the management and creation of local content for GLI Enlgish language website.As part of its initiative our centre has been organising a series of 'NGO management and capacity building programmes for GLI networkers,NGO Administrators and Development professionals in partnership with The Funding Network,United Kingdom.

Through our Children's Rights centre my organisation is now able to take up children's rights through artwork supported by ART VENTURE,Singapore and a Rain centre for local children and communities supported by Nature's voice-Our choice,USA. A phenomenal achievement is that five students from our children's rights through artwork programme were selected as winners at the international poster contest 2008 on theme 'What Water Means in my Life' organised by the Nature's Voice-Our Choice,USA.

The following link may be viewed to see our five International poster contest winners:http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisdangswc­/GOODWILLSChildrenWinAt2008WorldWaterDay­InternationalPosterContestOrganisedByNVO­CUSA

Three of our children from Madurai,India (out of six non US international students) under our 'Children's rights through artwork project' supported by ART VENTURE,Singapore have been declared as International poster contest winners at the2nd annual International Poster Contest 2009 sponsored by Nature's Voice-Our Choice,USA. The following link may be viewed to see our children's winning posters:
http://naturesvoice-ourchoice.org/index.php/Example-Category/JA-Senecio-Graphic-style-personal-homepage-template.html

As part of our art training programme for children we conducted a series of poster contests on the themes 'Water and Culture" and 'right to environment' for school children from 15th February 2009 to 10th March 2009 in and around Madurai,Tamilnadu,India.Indeed, Of 2440 posters made by children, 966 posters were selected for submission to the Nature's Voice-Our choice,USA for the 2009 World water Day International Poster contest.It is a proud moment for GOODWILL to make known that three children under the Children's rights through artwork project have been selected as international poster contest winners.

Of 3000 children from 8 different countries and throughout the United States participated in the 2nd annual International Poster Contest 2009 sponsored by Nature's Voice-Our Choice ,USA. Of12 children were selected as International poster contest winners 3 children are from Goodwill Social work Centre,Madurai,India.
I have not only tried to involve help from friends and organisations and the world but also brought global knowledge to help locally. With a background of implementing new ideas that revitalise,challenge and grow local communities I have created a groundbreaking social enterprise that without doubt touches and enriches the lives of children,youth and women and also builds NGO capacity through networking initiatives.

I have won the UnltdWorld(UK) Global Impact BRIC(Business, Resources, Insight and Community) award 2009. It is indeed a great honour and a rare privilege for me to have been nominated for the UnltdWorld Global Impact Award 2009 and to have won the most prestigious award. It is a delight to see Mrs. Libby Brayshaw,Executive Director,Global Links Initiative,United Kingdom, our GLI(UK) partner and a great friend of my organisation who was an invitee to UnltdWorld’s 1st Birthday Party held on Tuesday 5th May 2009 at Atlantic House, Holborn Viaduct,London was so gracious enough to collect the award on my behalf. You may please watch the video of the UnltdWorld award distribution to all the winners at the web link:http://www.vimeo.com/4510544.

I have created a series of web albums containing photographs of our various social projects:http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisdangswc.

Thank you so much for reading.

Dr.J.Christopher Daniel,M.A.,Ph.D
Executive Director
Goodwill Social Work Centre
No:5,South Street Extension
Singarayar colony
Madurai,India

[Yvette Dubel]

Hi Christopher,

Thanks for this update on your progress. I have been working on some project in India that I hope will benefit you and the people you work with - but progress has been much slower than I hoped. None the less - I will have Chris get in touch with you so that we can set aside a time to touch base again.

All the best!