DOI: 10.1177/0020872807076052

Experience from capacity-building courses for social workers in Iraq Wencke Aamodt Lind The situation in Iraq has been difficult for years. Kidnappings, bombings, suicide attacks, robberies, looting and street fights are part of daily life in Baghdad. The news never tells us about the social workers, but in this inferno and elsewhere in the country many social workers are trying to work with street children, in nurseries, institutions, offices and among the people who suffer from the bombings, with drug addicts, traumatized children, the mentally disordered and other disadvantaged groups. Due to the difficult situation in the country there is little support from inter-national organizations, many of whom have withdrawn from the country in fear for the safety of their employees. In 2005, I worked as an international lecturer and teacher in a capacity-building project for social workers from Baghdad. This article considers the experiences of carrying out six two-week courses where I met more than 140 social workers, reflecting on this experience, drawing on my meetings with social workers, the theoretical challenges, dilemmas and results of this endeavor. The capacity-building project: aims and objectives The project was a joint project by three non-governmental organiza-tions (NGOs) in collaboration with the Iraqi Ministry of Labor an