The author of this personal reflection is a junior doctor from Somaliland, a country that has suffered from civil war. He studied medicine there, and became interested in mental health care. This aspect of heath care is among the most neglected in the horn of Africa. However, with the support of British psychiatrists, the author has established educational training in psychiatry. He has also subsequently initiated mental health services in his hometown of Borama.

The author, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was trained to teach children with special needs. In this personal re£ection, she describes how due to the violence in her home country, she became a refugee in Tanzania, twice. She describes the suffering she has faced, including the death of her own children, and her experiences of sexual violence. In the refugee camp of Nyarugusu in Tanzania, she became involved in psychosocial work and learnt the power of working within the community.

Residents, living in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, are almost daily confronted with drug related violence. Similarly, local social educators working with children and young adults in these slums, also frequently live amidst this extreme violence. However, while this gives them a thorough understanding of the needs of the people they work with, it may also sometimes interfere with their ability to assist others, and they may sometimes be in need of support themselves.

Afghanistan has been in a constant state of war for over 30years, with no end in sight. Few Afghans today remember life before the war. This has implications for programmes designed to reduce war trauma and rebuild community connections, in order to foster peace and reconciliation. This paper describes efforts, rooted in local culture, to impact community mental health through promoting positive coping strategies for the prevention of, and care for, psychosocial problems.