Aissatou Balde is the Secretary of Financial Matters for the Network of Organizations Combating Trafficking in Persons in Guinea. She also serves as President of the National Union of Domestic Workers, and as a member of the National Committee for Combating Trafficking in Persons and Related Practices. Aissatou holds a degree in Business Administration and a diploma in social assistance. She previously was a social worker at Doctors Without Borders Belgium (MSF/B), working with psychosocial support for people living with HIV/AIDS, and worked with UNICEF and UNDP on psychosocial support for child victims of Ebola. 

IVLP Impact Award Project:  Project for Information and Training of Potential Trafficking Victims and Religious Leaders for Effective Prevention in Guinea  

The project equips young people and religious leaders with knowledge about human trafficking and skills to effectively combat this phenomenon.
Young people will be provided with reliable and useful information to stop the evolution of trafficking. Youth and religious leaders will be equipped with knowledge and skills to communicate information on irregular migration to promote informed decision-making on migration issues and local entrepreneurship. The project also will provide the community with knowledge for effective prevention and positive change regarding irregular immigration.  

IVLP Exchange Experience  

Aissatou participated in the IVLP Project: Combating Trafficking in Persons, organized by the U.S. Department of State and World Learning, in partnership with El Paso Council for International Visitors, Georgia Council for International Visitors, Global Ties Sacramento, and Global Ties San Fransisco.  

Aissatou’s exchange experience led to the development of her project: “During my IVLP trip, I had the opportunity to meet a civil society organization in El Paso that presented a very touching video about a family reunification they had facilitated for migrants from Mexico who had been in the United States for several years without proper documentation. I also watched a documentary by a journalist at the University of California, Berkeley, on the trafficking of young people who found themselves working in farms under inhumane conditions. I intend to use what I learned from these videos to develop my project and effectively engage young girls and boys, as well as religious leaders, in the fight against trafficking.” 

“This project examines best practices to combat human trafficking. [During my IVLP], we discussed efforts to raise awareness through local, national, and international media to combat human trafficking. We also discussed strategies to end human trafficking at both national and international levels, involving local, state, and federal agencies, law enforcement officials, educators, NGO leaders, religious organizations, and advocacy groups. These [discussions] were carried out in Washington DC, El Paso, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Atlanta. All these activities have inspired me in the design of my project.” - Aissatou Balde 

U.S. Communities Visited  

Washington, DC; Sacramento, CA; San Francisco, CA; Atlanta GA; El Paso, TX 

Country: Guinea   

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