Heal2Work and Heal2Learn: Trauma-Informed Skills for Conflict-Affected Youth

Iftin Global

Africa

2026

Project Summary

Heal2Work and Heal2Learn provide a trauma-informed skills toolkit integrated into the schools, jobs programs, and peacebuilding pathways conflict-affected youth already attend across the Horn of Africa.

In Somalia, 97% of youth screened in conflict zones exceed clinical distress thresholds; the resulting hypervigilance and mistrust drive 72% to refuse transitional justice. Iftin trains partners – Somali civil society, Federal Government, and schools – to deliver the 12-week curriculum independently at 95% below global cost. 5,000+ youth completed Heal2Work, with employment doubled, depression falling from 78% to 13%, and 322 ex-combatants reintegrated with zero recidivism.

Beyond clinical capacity, the goal is to restore social trust, unlock youth opportunity, and enable peace across fragile contexts by integrating mental health into existing institutions at the lowest possible cost.7

Presentation of the Organization

Iftin Global is a Somali-led NGO building trauma-informed infrastructure for civil society, schools, and public institutions. It co-creates scalable, community-owned solutions that help partners unlock human potential and foster peacebuilding. Founded by a McNulty Prize Laureate, its work spans youth employment, education, and ex-combatant reintegration, focusing on practical methodologies that shift mental health from a scarce clinical service into an everyday foundation for social resilience.