Tostan Community-Led Development Tostan’s mission is to empower African communities to bring about sustainable development and positive social transformation based on respect for human rights. 2 3 In Wolof, the most widely spoken language songs, dances, plays and poetry inspired in Senegal, Tostan means “breakthrough,” from traditional culture to reinforce new as well as “spreading and sharing.” This knowledge. word was suggested to Molly Melching, Tostan’s founder and executive director, Tostan believes that when participants by renowned African scholar Cheikh Anta start with what they already know, they Diop. He believed that to foster democracy, can expand and “break through” to new development must be educational for all understandings and practices and easily involved, always rooted in and growing share with others what they have learned. out of existing cultural practices and local Women, men, girls and knowledge. Influenced by his philosophy, Our organization offers a collective, boys participate in Tostan Tostan honors the local context of our interactive, community-led approach to classes in rural villages in participants. Our classes are offered in development, one in which community many African countries. African languages, and we hire and train members themselves create pathways out Theater, poetry and other elements of African culturally competent and knowledgeable of the dire poverty that so adversely affects culture contribute to local staff. Classes are taught in a their health and well-being. The following engaging communities in participatory manner and include dialogue overview explains what Tostan does, how discussions and activities and consensus building, highly valued we work, how we are funded and why our leading to positive skills in African societies. Learners create approach has been successful. change. What is Tostan? ostan is a US 501(c)(3) nongovernmental organization dedicated to community-led development in Africa. Working primarily in remote regions, we provide participatory human rights education to adults and adolescents who have not had access to formal schools. For over two T decades, Tostan has demonstrated that providing such an education transforms learners and their communities, leading to meaningful and sustainable social change. Our predominantly African staff includes dozens of field coordinators, supervisors and organizational administrators and hundreds of trained community facilitators. Our 30-month education program, known as the Community Empowerment Program (CEP), includes community-led outreach strategies that engage program participants in their own and neighboring villages. As a result, Tostan has transformed the lives of millions of Africans. 4 5 What is Tostan’s to ensure coordination, management and There is no literacy taught during the first sustainability for all development activi- year of the Community Empowerment community-led approach ties. Program. Instead Tostan meets people to development? where they are by promoting dialogue and Tostan is careful to include those who open conversation; classes are conducted Tostan uncovers local knowledge, already hold influence and power in in African languages using communication values and beliefs and uses a holistic the community and those who have methods that are both familiar and educational approach that encourages traditionally been marginalized. In this way, engaging. program participants to reflect on their women and men, adolescents and adults, own experiences across a wide range of religious and traditional leaders, people of Throughout the sessions, we emphasize subjects. Working from what they already different social and economic backgrounds developing critical thinking and research know and what they hope for their and locally elected officials come together skills, particularly those that help future, they can better define and solve to find solutions that benefit everyone. participants investigate issues in their community problems. In Tostan classes, own communities. Over the years we The CMC of Alabaday, villagers design, undertake, evaluate and The following six characteristics of our have learned from our participants and Somaliland, has sustain new actions that they believe will approach to development have been responded to their requests for further organized many help them reach personal and community critical to our successes. knowledge. Because of this feedback, we activities to improve goals. can teach standardized information at health, the environment Beginning with Villagers’ Visions critical junctures in the curriculum when and education in their In addition to the nonformal education of the Future participants express interest. For example, village. Girls, boys, Teaching Democracy and women and men work classes, Tostan establishes a Community Tostan’s first sessions engage participants we provide data on maternal and infant In Guinea, 198 villages together to coordinate Management Committee (CMC) and pro- in discussions about their visions for the mortality rates for analysis and use Human Rights have participated in the and manage all projects vides training for this committee through- future of their communities. They typically illustrations that teach the steps involved From years of experience, Tostan realized Tostan CEP since 2002. and events. out the program. The role of the CMC is express their hopes and dreams for well- in preventing dehydration from diarrhea. that participants could not apply their new “Although we were being, peace and prosperity. These shared In areas where there is deforestation, we skills and knowledge unless they knew neighbors, we never really sat together before visions serve as a reference for the rest of teach how to construct fuel-efficient stoves and understood their human rights; for and discussed these the educational program; goals identified and promote solar cookers. example, the human right to speak and be important issues,” noted are reviewed, discussed, debated, revised heard in public forums. Participants were one participant. and put into practice throughout the Tostan’s approach is participant-centered, also interested in democratic practices, 30-month program. not issue-driven. However, critical issues both in their own cultural traditions and do arise out of our interaction with learners in their national government. Working Providing a Relevant Curriculum when they begin to research problems in with African language specialists, Tostan Tostan works outside state-sponsored their communities. We then follow their approached human rights and democracy educational systems, often with adoles- lead. For example, we have supported through the concepts already present in cents and adults who have never been to participants as they have built schools, villagers’ daily language and ordinary primary or secondary schools, thus our wells and health centers and as they have experience. The introduction of these approach is referred to as nonformal edu- organized inter-village meetings and public new themes energized learners who cation. The 30-month program in African declarations to abandon harmful practices, began identifying human rights-affirming languages involves regular class sessions such as female genital cutting (FGC) practices they wished to reinforce and structured with sequenced information and child/forced marriage. We also help harmful practices they wished to abandon. that is presented in modules devoted to communities establish their own public As a result, in 2000, Tostan placed different themes. health initiatives, such as campaigns to interactive sessions on democracy, human prevent malaria, increase vaccination rates rights, problem solving, hygiene and and promote family planning. health at the beginning of the curriculum. 6 7 Involving Multiple Stakeholders introduced through a process of shared of these goals. The human rights context In helping communities solve problems inquiry. Such inquiry starts in the very insures participation from all sectors that they themselves identify, Tostan first session when participants are asked of the class and a safe environment for works closely with key stakeholders in- to express their future hopes for their exploration of previously taboo issues, cluding traditional and religious leaders, community. These discussions reveal such as the harmful practices of FGC and government officials, other nonprofits, possibilities and lead to the discovery child/forced marriage. international organizations, UN agencies, of shared goals. Cultural anthropologist donors, outside evaluators and scholars. Arjunu Appadurai calls this ability to These collaborators have provided essen- see the present in terms of a desired How have theories of tial resources, support and information as future “navigational capacity,” one that social norms and social Tostan has evolved over the years. involves continuous reexamination of the present situation for possibilities that conventions influenced Program and Organizational Learning were formerly seen as unavailable or Tostan’s educational Tostan’s structure, program and approach closed off. As class members describe a practices? Adolescent girls Facilitating Outreach and have greatly evolved over time based on future for their community that includes share information Knowledge Sharing feedback from participants, insights from peace, health, economic growth, security, on human rights and Since 2000, Tostan’s community-led devel- program evaluations, staff discussion