Why I Chose Social Work

Words: 288
Pages: 2

I chose social work as my life’s work, but in retrospect, I think social work chose me too. Growing up in a family that stressed commitment to the community, I was always interested in research, service, and in my adolescence and early adulthood in Nigeria, I began to notice the need for service around me. I came out as gay in a country that has laws against same sex relationships. There was nowhere my friends and I felt safe, so in 2005 we started an organization called the Independent Project (now known as the Initiative for Equal Rights) to create LGBTQIA safe spaces. Then, in 2007, several of my close friends were dying of HIV/AIDS because they were scared of going for treatment due to stigma and discrimination based on HIV/AIDS status