There are many schools across the country.
Some schools have educational welfare rooms where children can come and go, rest, play, and grow comfortably.
In that space, school social workers meet children.
We provide breakfast, counseling and psychological testing, individual and family programs, and link case management and material donations.
Working as a school social worker, I have cared for countless children.
There were both encouraging encounters with the children and sad encounters.
While some relationships last even after graduation, others disappear or break off in the middle.
I shared stories with my colleagues about the joy, sadness, pride, fulfillment, insight, frustration, prejudice, and pain that come from my relationships with children.
I talked with my mouth and put it into writing.


I was cautious about writing.
We and our students may remember the moment we encountered each other differently, or we may each store the temperature of space and time in our own way.
It is a difficult and painful story, so you may want to forget this encounter.
Even so, I wanted to be brave.
Part 1 of the book contains stories about the children and families raised and protected by the local community, the “people.”
Part 2 is about 'Business', which contains insights and progress gained through school welfare programs, and Part 3 is about 'Social Workers', which contains teachers, environment, prejudice, mistakes, and working with colleagues.
Not all the stories contained herein can be considered success stories.
This means that we have also experienced failures, as we have been with the students in their growth process.


The students we encounter are set up with poverty and deprivation as their default.
It is so strong that it is difficult to overcome.
But I hope for the children who grew up with us.
May we know that the world we live in is connected, even if only in a subtle way, and that there are more people who empathize with those in pain! May the children remember the school welfare experiences we shared together, planting small seeds that will cultivate the future! May they know that we remember the sparkling narratives of their lives, the small and large footprints they left behind...
- December 2024 All authors