The Social Development Department promotes capacity building amongst WoF beneficiaries. It is integral in ensuring the success of the WoF Programme with regards to skills development, job creation, poverty alleviation and community upliftment. Social Development Officers are based in each region and visit each base regularly to hold formal and informal training, talks and workshops. Talks and outreach workshops are often extended to the greater communities too and address issues such as alcohol and subsistence abuse, financial management, HIV/AIDS knowledge, TB awareness, self-defence for women and career guidance. Skills sharing, art and craft work, recycling, gardening, sewing, fishing and sport are all important social development activities. Teams are encouraged to adopt a school, creche or old age home as part of their effort to give back to their communities. Addressing women as a minority in the fire fighting community Working on Fire has the highest ratio of female to male fire fighters in the world (currently 30%), however women are still the minority in this industry and there is an awareness of the complications this may bring. The role of the Social Development Department includes raising awareness of issues like sexual harassment, unplanned pregnancy and women being too shy to talk and assert themselves in mainly male teams. WoF is sensitive to circumstances where many rural women may be disempowered or lack confidence and the Social Development Department is working hard to address these matters.