This paper examines the interplay between the destructive and healing forces within human communities, as reflected in the life of children. This work stems from over 30 years of being involved as a participant/near-miss survivor/therapist, in a society exposed to intermittent wars and random terrorist attacks. An interventional model evolved to help children in the Israeli educational system. This model was expanded over time and utilized in other global settings, with a variety of national, ethnic and cultural groups in trouble. This paper attempts to scan an enormously complicated subject by looking separately at different layers before reintegrating them all into the ‘larger picture’ of a dynamic, pulsating whole. In trying to draw a global map of trauma and healing, one hopes not to lose sight of the individual, the unique and indispensable child.