Wayne Bleier, a family psychotherapist practicing in a small town in Washington State, figured that what worked with kids in his practice in the US would work with kids in war-torn counties. He gave up his practice and life as he knew it and began traveling to refugee camps around the world, helping children recover from the traumas they've experienced.

During his first trip to Bosnia, Bleier traveled the country, reuniting families—not an easy task. Some parents didn't even want to find their kids, thinking they were better off in orphanages. Militia-run refugee camps convinced kids not to return home —it would cost the militia aid money if the children left the camps. And it took an incredible amount of detective work just to locate family members for reunions. Bleier decided to stay in one place, setting up programs for kids and families within the refugee camps.

"You deal with trauma by encouraging routine and structured activities like education, sports, or traditional crafts," he says. "With predictability comes trust and a re-awakening of curiosity."

Bleier never imposes; with each new country he's gone to and with each new camp, he feels out what's needed and responds. Afghans, for example, value education, but in the camps violence can get in the way of schooling so in one Afghan camp, Bleier began conflict resolution programs. By the time he left almost five months later, violence had subsided so much that school enrollment was up 255%. In Indonesia, young girls often learn to weave to increase their marriage prospects, but in refugee camps, the systems for learning this skill breaks down. Bleier recruited grandmothers to teach the girls weaving.

In the Republic of Congo, as in Bosnia, militia leaders in charge of camps for refugees intentionally keep kids separated from their parents to secure aid money. The children were even told that their families were dead and that the children themselves will be killed if they return to Rwanda. Bleier met with kids and told them about life back home. He set up safe-houses outside the camp, where the children could talk freely. He showed them videotapes of their families and brought letters from home. "Little by little we started breaking the propaganda," he says. "More and more came forward wanting to leave."

Since his first trip to Bosnia, Bleier's worked in Burundi, Afghanistan, the Congo, Rwanda, East and West Timor, and Tajikistan. Everywhere he's gone, Bleier's put his own safety at risk, going often into areas so dangerous that aid agencies won't send in their personnel. Bleier now has an official job and title: Reunification Coordinator in Congo-Brazzaville for the International Rescue Committee. The program is so successful, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has asked that it be expanded to assist adult and elderly refugees as well as children.

Keep up with Wayne Bleier's work at http://www.rescue.org/