Mr. Mamadi Conde, 1966 - 2010
(Community Violence Reduction Officer, Guinea)
Mamadi Conde, a national of Guinea, worked as a Community Violence Reduction Officer with the UN Volunteers programme (UNV) for the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) since 2005.
Mamadi graduated from Julius Nyerere University in Kankan, Guinea, in 1996 with the equivalent of a Master’s degree in Social Science. He was fluent in French and English as well as several other languages spoken in Guinea.
Before leaving Guinea, Mamadi worked with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as a Field Assistant where he traveled to refugee camps in Kissidougou, helping evaluate the needs of refugees from the conflicts in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
From 1996 to 2000, Mr. Conde worked in various refugee camps in the Gueckedou area where he took a census of refugees and internally displaced people. He also trained 500 Guineans on issues related to small businesses.
He moved to Port-au-Prince spurred on by his desire to be involved in international affairs. While working for the Community Violence Reduction Section, Mamadi helped set up the Reintegration Orientation Centre (ROC) for disarmed gang members.
Mamadi was diligent in reporting all his progress to the mission and also served as a media representative. “He worked sleepless nights to make sure that ROC tenants were properly taken care of and to ensure that violence did not erupt in the centre. He was loved and respected by former gang members and all staff in the ROC,” said a colleague.
“Mamadi had dedicated years of his life to the assistance of others, and his commitment to voluntary service was an inspiration to beneficiaries and colleagues in Haiti alike,” said another colleague. “Mamadi and all those who lost their lives in the earthquake will continue to inspire us in the years to come. Profound sympathy on behalf of UNV goes to his family at this difficult time.”
Guinea’s Ambassador to the UN Alpha Ibrahima Sow commented on his fallen nationals. “They fell to an honorable cause.”
He continued, “I was shocked but also just as relieved that they had been found. I thought of the pain of the families, loved ones, friends and colleagues who had just been deprived of one of their own.”
A colleague in Haiti remembers talking with Mamadi late into the night about how much he loved his family and his long-term plans for them.
He is survived by his wife and his family.