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Francis Kabina works with the victims of unimaginable horror: young girls who were raped and abused; boys forced to fight and kill; men who saw their homes and families destroyed; women, children and the elderly whose limbs were hacked off. These are Francis’ people.A trauma and community reintegration specialist, 33-year old Francis has worked in Sierra Leone as a United Nations volunteer since November 1998. He counsels people traumatized by a savage war that killed 75,000 and displaced half the country’s population of 4.4 million. Francis, who comes from Tanzania, has also experienced the brutality first hand. He was evacuated three times from Sierra Leone, once after anti-government rebels beat him so severely, he almost lost his life.Francis has taken on a Herculean task: reintegrating the communities of ex-combatants and their victims. He holds public meetings in schools, churches, mosques and refugee camps so victims can release their pent-up anger in a controlled environment. Drama is used to help people deal with their experiences. Villagers relive the atrocities and act out their flight from rebels. Amputees describe how armed gangs cut off their limbs and they carry out mock assaults on ex-combatants who mutilated them."I have seen a lot of people go through a lot of suffering", says Francis. "People are angry and they have been hurt. If they keep that anger locked up inside, they will lose their balance and will start exploding."Once victims understand the importance of not seeking revenge, he advises ex-combatants to go back to their communities. Many former rebels make public confessions in churches and mosques. Although people are still coming to terms with their turbulent past, they are showing a willingness to listen and even to forgive.Francis uses an intensive two-week trauma counselling session to train community leaders — social workers, teachers, pastors and imams who he enlists to help others. The new trainees are supervised closely for three months and given regular two-day follow-up sessions, where they exchange experiences and discuss ways to handle new and difficult issues."Slowly, slowly this approach is working," says Francis acknowledging that it will take time to overcome all the pain and suffering. "The ex-combatants have left marks that the people cannot erase easily," he admits. Francis and his colleagues estimate they have helped more than 20,000 people in the Freetown area. However, outside the capital, where rebel forces are still active, Francis has been unable to extend his counselling services. In towns like Moyamba and Bo, it has been "two steps forward and three steps back," he says.Francis Kabina works on behalf of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) with about 70 other volunteer specialists recruited from 30 countries by the United Nations Volunteers programme (UNV). These volunteers provide services to the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), which implements its human rights mandate in collaboration with government and national institutions, UN agencies, human rights and humanitarian organizations, civil society and religious communities. Priority is given to human rights monitoring, reporting, advocacy and training.The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and UNAMSIL are working with the Government to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a Human Rights Commission in Sierra Leone.FIND OUT MORE about the UN’s work to protect human rights and about UN Volunteers. Go to the links next to the photo of Sierra Leone amputees acting out their traumatic experiences.