Who We Are

Green String Network is a social movement that works with communities to heal social and collective traumas.

We are a diverse team of peacebuilders, including psychologists, embodied practitioners, police officers, artists, storytellers, filmmakers, researchers, teachers, parents, young people, community leaders, and people with lived experience. Our mission is to design healing-centered interventions and develop innovative research methods to learn about the effectiveness of our work.

Our focus is on addressing trauma as a root cause of violent behavior. We use storytelling, art, and embodied practices to help people articulate the traumas they have experienced and recognize how these experiences have shaped them. Through our programs, we aim to unlock new ways of thinking, behaving, and feeling, so that individuals and communities can live more full and peaceful lives. We believe that healing is the first and fundamental step toward building peace, well-being, and prosperity in the long term.

Our Well-being & Resilience Framework examines peaceful behavior, particularly resistance to reactionary forces and ideas, to understand violent behavior more deeply. Our work focuses on preventing violence in a range of contexts, including violent extremism, violent crime, gender-based violence, and ethnic violence.

By addressing trauma and promoting resilience, we believe that we can build a more peaceful world.

Our Vision

We envision a compassionate world resilient to the forces that divide us.

Our mission

We stand alongside marginalized communities impacted by adversity and violence, supporting their transformative healing and growth. Guided by feminist principles, we center the voices, knowledge, and agency of those most affected, using Indigenous wisdom and collective care practices to address the impact of trauma and injustice. Through our work in community mental health, we empower individuals and communities to heal, build resilience, and thrive—emotionally, socially, and economically. Together, we create spaces for enduring change, fostering holistic well-being and sustainable prosperity for all.

Awards & Recognitions

  • GSN's Ustawi Virtual Circles App is a Finalist in MIT Solve's Global Challenges 2023. Out of 400 applications, Ustawi stood out with its human-centered and community-focused design. By integrating holistic well-being, improved livelihoods, and technology, we're driving positive social change. Join us in celebrating this accomplishment as we continue to empower fragile communities in East Africa and the Horn.

  • The international jury praised Green String Network's extraordinary work and GSN's specific view on mental health care, seeing that it is a collective approach that uses storytelling as a tool for sharing and recognizing traumatic experiences.

  • In collaboration with fintech partner Onkout, we developed an innovative solution combining a culturally relevant and unique healing-centered collective mental health peer support program with a virtual business training program and financial tools. This solution is aimed at improving the lives of young people by providing them with the necessary resources and support to THRIVE.

  • Selected by Paris Peace Forum · Nov 2019

Healing Trauma. Building Resilience. Creating a More Peaceful World

SDGs

Our work is strongly linked to several of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).

Healing makes peace possible.

  • Healing involves restoring relationships.

  • Healing fosters collective care.

  • Healing requires breaking cycles of violence.

  • Healing empowers us to take new actions.

  • Healing ensures inclusivity for all.

  • Healing involves acknowledging and understanding the perspective of the "other."

  • Healing is about discovering safety and connection.

  • Healing requires a collective effort.

  • Healing gives us choices.

  • Healing cultivates meaningful connections.

  • Healing engages the power of storytelling.

  • Healing is empowered through Indigenous practices, such as circle processes.

  • Creating space for one another is essential to the healing process.