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 equipped 20 young people and 20 religious leaders with knowledge about human trafficking and skills to effectively combat this phenomenon through two 2-day awareness raising training sessions. Aissatou also directly sensitized over 200 people and indirectly reached more through the media and social networks.

Youth and religious leaders gained knowledge and skills to communicate about irregular migration, promoting informed decisions and local entrepreneurship as alternatives. The project also provided 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.” 

"I really appreciated the quality of the training and the concepts learned, I had never had this information before otherwise I would never have let my brother leave illegally, he lost his life leaving behind a widow and 6 children. It's sad and painful. From this moment on, I commit to being an ambassador in my neighborhood to raise awareness among young boys and girls, men and women in order to fight against human trafficking and irregular migration. You are truly a champion. Thank you very much for this initiative. Thanks to you I now know what human trafficking is." – Project Participant

U.S. Communities Visited  

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

Country: Guinea   

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