May 10 – Victims of Human Trafficking

Alliance de l’Espérance (“Alliance of Hope”) 

Location: Lyon (69)

Represented by Bernadette Bike Medjo

Current Context

Alliance de l’Espérance operates mainly out of Lyon and has been fighting human trafficking and sex trafficking for more than 10 years. We offer support to anyone trapped in prostitution as well. Almost all of those we serve arrived in France via organized crime syndicates and are seeking asylum. Once a month, from 8pm-10:30 pm, we take our “Mobil’Hope” truck onto the streets of Lyon to provide these ladies with tea, coffee, cakes and other non-perishable food. We take the time to inform them of their rights as well as supply them with personal hygiene materials and HIV or hepatitis tests. 

This initial contact enables us to get to know them and we can invite them to our office for a follow-up and more personal meeting focused on their specific situation. Our office is open every Friday from 2pm -4:30 p.m., in a location made available by an association we have a contract with. We also offer psychological, social, administrative and spiritual support during these meetings.

We facilitate referrals to other social or care agencies and can be reached by telephone every day. We find that conversations over the phone are a simple and effective way to keep in touch and establish a relationship of trust over time. Many of the people we work with have become very cautious after being betrayed, manipulated or threatened. We try to remain in constant contact with them throughout the entire support process.

Actions taken and results achieved in 2024

In 2024, we took part in training courses to deepen our knowledge on the laws governing foreign nationals in order to provide them with the support they need. We have also successfully helped several women find accommodations and regain their social status as well as helping others return to their home countries. of origin.

During the Olympic Games, we partnered with Porteurs d’Espoir (Bearers of Hope) to raise awareness among transgender people. During the Olympic Games in Lyon, we teamed with the associations “27 million” and “El Pozo de Vida” to edit a film raising awareness about prostitution.

The “Regeneration” theme for the 2025 prayer campaign has inspired us to want to go further and deepen the actions within our ministry. It made us realize that we must first be regenerated and transformed in our knowledge and vision as Christian before we go out to help others, knowing that the harvest is great.

Our ministry has witnessed numerous transformed lives, including that of our current president, Bernadette Bike Medjo, who left prostitution in 2013. Over the past decade, women like Doris, Grâce, and Patience have also found pathways out of exploitation

“Lord, we thank you for this year’s prayer campaign for the nations. Father, may it please you to answer all of our prayers according to your perfect will and for your glory. Amen."

Projects in 2025

• Continuing training in trauma care
• Raising awareness among churches about human trafficking and the link with pornography
• Train the team on secondary trauma and how to prevent it
• Introduction of APP (Analysis of Professional Practices) and ATP (Accompanying Traumatised People)

Prayer request

Pray that the Lord will grant us clarity and direction as we work to realize our vision for the Alliance: to build a place of welcome and support for women who wish to leave prostitution within the next 5 years.

Further information

1. Alliance de l’Espérance on the Impact France website: impactfrance.org/alliancedelesperance

2. Alliance de l’Espérance website: alliancedelesperance.org 

Hope & Joy 

Geographical locations: Montpellier, Alès, Nîmes Avignon, Narbonne, Béziers Perpignan and La Jonquera, Spain.
Represented by Éric Sanchez

Current context

The Hope & Joy Association supports those trapped in prostitution or at risk of becoming prostitutes. Many women are victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation and those we meet are the “survivors.” After enduring a difficult immigratory journey, they are emotionally broken, are forced into prostitution and experience great isolation, violence and guilt. We dedicate ourselves to continuous outreach, day and night, building relationships and offering unwavering support. Our ministry focuses on restoring their self-esteem and helping them accept the truth that they are loved by God. 

Over the past 10 years, we have reached out to hundreds of women from Nigeria, Guinea, Romania, France and Spain, helping them to reconcile with God. We have also distributed several hundred Bibles in all languages.

Since the end of the pandemic, we have gained access to 5 prostitution clubs on the France/ Spain border, reaching several hundred women. We are able to facilitate times of praise, sharing and preaching the Word of God in 2 of these clubs! 

For the past 3 years in Montpellier, a Hope & Joy prevention team spends every Monday evening distributing crêpes to teens as a means to facilitate discussions on the dangers of being solicited through social networks. Unfortunately many financially promising yet misleading classified ads circulating on social media are often disguises for prostitution networks. This weekly outreach opportunity also allows us to speak into topics like pornography, escort ads and sugar daddies.

We want to impact this generation, save lives and expose lies, while affirming God’s true values about love, sexuality and His plan of salvation in Jesus Christ.

“I used to feel like a mistake on earth. I thought God couldn’t love me. Hope & Joy told me that my life is precious to God and that He loves me unconditionally. I grasped His hand and His love. I’m now free in my heart!” 

“That night I had decided to throw myself under a truck. My life was hopeless in my eyes. The Hope & Joy team came by. In their eyes I saw love, their outstretched hand, and I grabbed it.” 

Actions taken and results achieved in 2024

We drove to where the need is, using small vans transformed into “mobile churches” to provide comfort, food, drink, clothing, information, protection and God’s love. Our association is made up of some forty volunteers trained in post-trauma listening and pastoral care.

Projects in 2025

We would like to extend our network even further, into Marseille and Toulouse, so that no one who is forced into prostitution is forgotten.

Prayer Topics

Pray that God be seen in France where there is an increasing amount of people rejecting Him. Pray that Hope & Joy may shine in the midst of this darkness of all forms of abuse. 

Further information

1. Hope & Joy on the Impact France website: impactfrance.org/hopeandjoynimes

2. Hope & Joy website: hopeandjoy.fr