WHEN A MAN TRAVELING WITH HIS SON, Fabiloh, across the border from Guinea to Koindu, Sierra Leone with the intention of selling the boy, his plans were abruptly intercepted. The man had unbeknownst come to tread on a community actively aware and involved in WHI’s anti-trafficking program.

After a brief interaction with a knowledgeable village parent group (VPG) member, trained to recognize trafficking attempts, the VPG member who posed as an interested buyer alerted the local police of the trafficking attempt.

When the man was approached by a plain-clothes police officer, what he saw as an opportunity to negotiate a deal for the boy was in fact a negotiation for his own freedom. When the man followed the plain-clothes officer to retrieve the 50 million Leones agreed upon for the boy, he instead received his very own set of handcuffs.

Fabiloh was taken into care of the Social Welfare Department until his family was traced in Guinea and they were reunited in great celebration throughout the community. Fabiloh’s father is still awaiting trial for human trafficking at the High Court.

Fabiloh’s freedom is a story of VPG community members, law enforcement and service providers trained by World Hope International’s FAAST [Faith Alliance Against Slavery and Trafficking] staff to recognize and actively respond to cases of human trafficking. It is a story of one community working together—that saved a tragic story of human trafficking from being written.