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 Tdecades, 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 of education, work, solidarity and lack of Since 1998, several theories about social responsibilities at an opment approach has become even more program experience and consultation with discrimination, they begin to look at what change have guided our educational intervillage meeting. effective through the addition of strategies advisors. This has allowed the program to they have already been doing that will help work. Our participants have long-standing For most girls it is the that encourage outreach activities. Class continue its trajectory of “learning” – the them succeed; they also discover practices practices, some they have identified as first time they have process of finding a closer “fit” among that are blocking progress toward their spoken out in public. participants and Community Management positive and some as harmful. The work of Committee members tap into existing so- villager needs, the social-cultural context, goals. Our educational modules provide philosopher Cristina Bicchieri has helped cial connections to create ever-widening program design elements and staff actions. participants with new information and us think about social norms that underlie networks for social action and resource This adaptive learning approach is now a problem-solving strategies that enable these practices. Social norms are clusters sharing. We call this process of reaching normal practice for Tostan. It allows us to them to author their own futures in terms of expected behaviors that bind people out to others to disseminate information remain coherent and consistent over time organized diffusion. In this model, partici- while still adapting materials, curriculum, Public declarations allow pants “adopt” learning partners and share methods and components of the program. members of an extended program topics with friends and fam- This is why Tostan is confident that it family to come together ily members and with the community at can spread its model to new countries and announce their decision large. The community itself then “adopts” and cultural contexts given the dynamic, to abandon harmful surrounding communities and family context-sensitive and learner-centered traditional practices and members in the diaspora. This diffusion of nature of the program. promote human rights knowledge and action has brought about for all members of their regional, national and even international community in a peaceful, consensus among interconnected social What is Tostan’s positive way. Women and girls play an important networks about the need to respect human educational philosophy? role in the abandonment rights. It has led to collective celebrations process. of positive practices and abandonment of Rooted in theories of democratic harmful ones. education, such as those of John Dewey and Paulo Freire, Tostan values what participants already know and bring to the learning experience. Our curriculum is designed so that new information is
8 9 Poetry and dance help participants in Djibouti that they could not individually abandon together culturally. They are systemic, understand new perpetuated by multiple actors within FGC. In Senegal, as in much of Africa, a information. a system and acted out without critical “community” can often extend well beyond thought as to their origin or function. Our the borders of any village, region or even educational approach encourages dialogue nation. Decisions about important matters and deliberation about the assumptions are made within a large and complex and beliefs that hold social norms in network of inter-related neighborhoods place within communities. Such public and villages, connected through marriage deliberation has led to a shift in social and family ties, trade, local resources norms and group expectations: thousands and a host of other influences. In order of communities have organized to abandon to redefine social norms, these networks harmful practices such as FGC. must be included in the educational process—otherwise, any one individual or Political scientist Gerry Mackie has argued, group within that network will be unlikely in a similar vein, that several harmful to adopt a new behavior on their own, as Tostan participants use practices, such as FGC, constitute self- others will be unaware of, surprised by, whatever means they enforcing social conventions. As such they and often offended by the change if not first have available to study, are not a matter of one individual’s choice consulted. Tostan thus recognized early in times a week. Each village has a class learn and grow, like and preference. A girl’s reputation and its educational work that individuals and for adolescents and one for adults, so a these women studying future would be adversely affected if her their social networks need to coordinate to minimum of 50 to 60 villagers participate. by flashlight. Tostan family did not conform to the convention. solve their problems. is using an innovative Mackie’s theoretical work, along with Once a village agrees and classes solar project to address participant and the experiences of villagers, informed What are the components begin, the facilitator helps establish the community needs for Tostan’s community-wide approach as village’s Community Management Com- electricity. villagers themselves helped Tostan see of Tostan’s educational mittee (CMC). Composed of 17 members, these committees are a mechanism for program? community action and institutionalizing democratic community leadership. The Villages learn about Tostan’s program training curriculum for the CMCs provides in a variety of ways, most often by word the knowledge, skills and experience nec- of mouth. When a village has requested essary to identify, prioritize and address The educational program has two phases, Before introducing Tostan’s Community Empowerment human rights violations, using the same and each phase contains modules, units of reproductive health Program and funding is available, the participatory and reflective methods that sequenced information organized around themes during community is informed about what Tostan are modeled throughout our program. a theme. The first phase is called the Kobi, the CEP sessions, community facilitators provides and what it must contribute. CMCs propose and manage development a Mandinka word meaning “to prepare and supervisors hold Villagers understand that they will receive projects identified during class sessions the field for planting.” The information meetings, like this one a systematic curriculum for the classes, a and CMC meetings. They also organize so- contained in over 100, two-hour long in Guinea, to engage chance to interact and discuss what they cial mobilization activities and spur mean- Kobi sessions is shared orally since most and gain the full support are learning and a trained facilitator whose ingful action in areas including health care, participants beginning the program cannot of local religious and stipend is paid by Tostan. The villagers the environment and child protection, read or write. The Kobi sessions take place traditional leaders. must provide a meeting place for the among others. CMCs provide sustainabil- over a one-year period, with facilitators classes and feed and house the facilitator, ity for the Tostan program as responsibil- drawing on oral traditions to spark debate who lives in the community and teaches ity for development is placed in the hands and dialogue on issues related to the two classes of 25 to 30 participants three of the community itself. community’s well-being.
10 11 The second phase of the educational of community-led educational outreach program is called the Aawde, a Fulani “organized diffusion”. In our program, word meaning “to plant the seed.” participants “adopt” a learner within their Devoted to economic empowerment, this community, and most spontaneously teach phase is composed of literacy lessons other neighbors and relatives in their own and small-project management training. and other villages. They not only reinforce In the Aawde, participants learn to read existing social relationships, but they also and write in their own language and study take on new roles, such as teacher and/or basic math skills. They write letters and community leader, building competence compose simple project proposals, reports, and confidence as they try out new skills autobiographies, stories, poems and or take different approaches to problems. songs. They also learn to read and write SMS text messages on mobile phones to Communities also “adopt” other villag- practice their literacy skills. Participants es to share information and plan social study management skills and learn how to mobilization activities and awareness-rais- assess the feasibility of income-generating ing campaigns. They organize intervillage projects and then select, implement meetings to discuss important issues and and manage good projects. Interactive achieve consensus on decisions affecting workbooks help them review the initial their extended family and social network. During an intervillage modules of the Kobi and practice their meeting in the Matam region in northern reading and writing skills. Our radio programs provide another Senegal, women means to disseminate information. They applaud news of What is organized bring education to the airwaves once a successful campaigns week in regions where Tostan implements for school enrollment The Coordinator and The Kobi module begins with sessions on development, including systems of the diffusion? its program. Broadcast in local languag- and vaccination in their treasurer of a CMC democracy, human rights and problem body, the reproductive process and proper es, radio shows include discussions on communities. in Senegal explain solving. Participants actively discuss and birth spacing, as well as information on Tostan has drawn its educational practices monthly income and debate their views about the future of HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections from the social context of villagers’ daily expenses for the millet their village. They then use their shared and the dangers of practices such as FGC lives, tapping into what animates them machine project in the vision as the basis for exploring the and child/forced marriage. The module as learners. Villagers are skilled at creat- community. At least 80% of the CMC coordinators implications and meanings of human also promotes positive, health-enhancing ing and maintaining multifaceted social are women. rights, such as the human right to be local traditions, such as breastfeeding and networks within and among communi- free from all forms of discrimination. infant massage. ties, networks that are familial, religious, These early dialogues set the context for economic and educational. Sometimes the sessions that follow. For example, During the hygiene and health sessions, invisible to outsiders, these historically rich participants are empowered to take action participants use knowledge gained from social connections are intergenerational, when they learn about health and hygiene. the sessions on democracy, human rights created through making shared decisions They learn about germs and how to stop and problem solving to organize, speak and responding to challenges. their transmission. The class weighs the out and take action based on information benefits of prevention over the costs of learned. CMCs support this process by As Tostan’s education program has evolved, treatment. Many lessons are devoted to developing, monitoring and sustaining it has increasingly responded to and understanding the role of vaccinations health activities in partnership with local reinforced these social practices, making it in preventing disease. Participants learn health officials. possible for villagers to spread their new about their own mental and physical knowledge to others. We call this process
12 13 topics such as human rights, health and What is Tostan’s latest What are some results democracy. They also provide community members with a forum for sharing positive strategy to sustain literacy of the Tostan approach experiences accomplished by participants and increase organized to community-led and CMCs. These radio broadcasts gener- ate further discussion and support local diffusion? development? social mobilization initiatives across the country. Tostan has found that one main barrier Tostan’s internal monitoring and evaluation to making literacy a “norm” in rural team continually seeks participant and Participants are highly Linking villages to insure broad dissemi- communities is a lack of opportunities for staff feedback and uses that feedback to motivated to apply their new literacy skills as nation of information through organized individuals to use their literacy skills in improve the program. We have evidence they write text messages. diffusion has become a core strategy with- ways that are relevant to their daily lives. to suggest that, among other outcomes, Adolescent girls are in Tostan’s model because it fosters condi- We believe that SMS text messaging can many Tostan villages have a reduction in always ready to help tions for collective and coordinated social remove this barrier by giving individuals infant and maternal mortality; an increase other learners. transformation. the possibility to practice and reinforce in vaccinations rates, birth spacing, their skills in reading, writing and math on a and pre- and post-natal consultations; daily basis. The cellular telephone is already and a decreased incidence of domestic • Establishment of small community- Women sell vegetables one of the most frequently used modes of violence. operated health centers harvested from their communication in the rural areas in which collective garden started we work. However, an informal Tostan The following results are clearly visible: • Community-managed microcredit opera- during the Tostan CEP. survey in educational centers revealed that tions benefiting clients with limited very few participants with cellular phones • As of 2009, collective public abandonment access to credit currently use SMS to communicate, despite of FGC and child/forced marriage in over the fact that it is much less expensive than 4,000 communities in Senegal, Burkina • Increased birth registrations, marriage making a phone call. Faso, The Gambia and Guinea certificates, national identity cards and school registrations We have launched an new project to re- • New forms and lines of communication view and teach literacy through SMS text between men and women, youth and The public, collective declarations to messaging in rural villages that have al- adults, husbands and wives, parents and abandon FGC are the most visible out- ready received the Tostan program. We children and different socio-economic come of the Tostan program. Since the have used their feedback to create excit- groups first public declaration in 1997 in Senegal, ing new exercises for our literacy sessions. almost three-fourths of the estimated 5,000 We are working with UNICEF and informa- • Increased mediation and conflict communities that practice FGC have tion technology programmers to develop resolution abandoned it. As we expand our program equipment that will make it easier to teach to other African countries, the movement literacy through messaging. This project • Regular community clean-ups to end FGC is spreading. Hundreds of not only allows learners to review their villages in Guinea, for example, have pub- new literacy skills and apply them, but it • Active Community Management Com- licly declared abandonment of FGC and also enables participants to communi- mittees, a majority of which are headed child/forced marriage and declarations cate with people in their extended family by women and are officially registered as have started in The Gambia. networks as they organize to bring about Community Based Organizations positive social transformation. • Increased involvement of women in civic activities
14 15 What do external In Burkina Faso, the community-based African countries could make a difference education [Tostan] programme involved in the well-being of women and of the evaluations tell us about 23 villages. … During the implementation community as a whole. Tostan’s work? of the Tostan programme … many positive changes occurred in the participating Based on the above and other studies, Tostan has been evaluated extensively villages. The communities now promote in 2005, the Innocenti Research Centre of by several external agencies, including reproductive health and human rights UNICEF published a Digest on FGC con- Frontiers in Reproductive Health (with and hold regular clean-up activities for cluding that Tostan “has achieved remark- the Population Council) (2003 and 2004); improving public hygiene. Also, these able results” (p. 24). In Health Bulletin: A UNICEF (in a commissioned 2008 study); villages are now standing up against Publication of the Population Reference and the Ministry of the Family, National violence toward women. The utilization Bureau, Gryboski et al. (2006) compared Solidarity and Women’s Enterprise and of health services, antenatal care, five community-based programs deemed Micro-credit of the Government of Senegal family planning and child health have effective for improving health care. (2008). We briefly summarize some main significantly increased.… At the end of the Tostan, one of the five programs, was conclusions here. programme, the 23 communities made a given the highest overall rating for com- public declaration for abandonment of the munity participation in recognition of ef- In 2003 the Population Council reported practice of FGC in front of 5,000 villagers, forts to work on health goals identified by on a collaborative project between Tostan religious, traditional and political leaders, the community. and Mwangaza Action in Burkina Faso the media and programme managers from designed to replicate a previous, shorter government, NGOs, and international In 2007, UNICEF sponsored an in-depth version of the Tostan program. The project organizations. study of communities where the Tostan was successful, as made clear in the project program had been implemented between evaluation: In 2004, the Frontiers in Reproductive 1996 and 2000. Researchers found, on Health project of the Population Council, average, a 77% abandonment rate of published a controlled study conducted FGC in Tostan-trained communities that from 2000-2003 to evaluate the success had publicly declared their abandon- of Tostan’s nonformal education program ment of the practice. It is important to in 20 villages in which it had been note that this study investigated commu- implemented. The researchers found nities that participated in the older ver- that, in terms of knowledge, attitudes, sion of the Tostan educational program and behavior regarding reproductive (before democracy and human rights health, human rights and FGC, Tostan’s modules were fully integrated into the Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting and (Pages 16-17 images) program results were noteworthy. The curriculum). Tostan’s staff believes that ten United Nation agencies. Both argue Tostan mainly works in study states: its current integration of democracy and for three essential components for FGC communities located human rights and its improved training abandonment to occur: a human rights- many hours from urban The impact of the Tostan program on program for CMCs have accelerated learn- based education program, a process of centers and paved roads. Ninety-five percent of women’s and men’s well-being has been ing, addressed issues of sustainability and organized diffusion and a public declaration Tostan participants are led to even more rapid abandonment of of abandonment by members of the social substantial. The program has been able Muslim. Traditional and to bring about a social change within the FGC and child/forced marriage. network. religious leaders have community and to mobilize the villag- been actively involved in ers for better environmental hygiene, re- As a result, in part, of the research studies In 2008, during a study conducted by the creating Tostan sessions. spect for human rights, and improvement on Tostan, two international groups Ministry of the Family, National Solidarity of health. Extending the Tostan program have endorsed strategies developed by and Women’s Enterprise and Micro- to other areas of Senegal and to other Tostan: the Donors’ Working Group on credit of the Government of Senegal,
16 17 tools, expanded our data management How do we monitor our systems and broadened our methodology program, assess our and data analysis strategies. As the pro- gram has expanded, Tostan has identified practices and respond to specific indicators, measured during the external evaluations? implementation of our three-year program, so that we can standardize data collection Our success lies not only in our participatory and the analysis process. In 2007, Tostan philosophy and strategies, but also in the formalized the Department of Monitoring, way we continuously assess our own Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) practices and respond to recommendations to coordinate measurement and evalua- from external evaluations so that we tion throughout projects now operating in enhance participant learning and staff eight countries. performance. For example, an evaluation Tostan CMCs have by UNICEF of a shortened version of the created special Tostan program revealed that the majority What happens after commissions for of participants were frustrated at receiving communities finish the protecting children in only the Kobi modules without the literacy the community. These and management training portions of the three-year CEP? commissions help to CEP. Tostan then made a firm commitment plan, implement and to implement the full three-year version of monitor decisions made Tostan relies on CMCs to sustain devel- by the community in the the CEP in every community. opment activities during and after the areas of health, education Community Empowerment Program. and social norms. Other external evaluations, such as the 2004 To date, Tostan has trained over 1,500 Population Council evaluation, showed Community Management Committees, the need to introduce literacy workbooks many of which have become officially to help participants remember themes registered Community Based Organiza- learned in the Kobi. These workbooks were tions. In 2006, we created the Empowered developed soon after the evaluation and Communities Network (ECN) to help CMCs have greatly contributed to participants’ address needs in their communities by literacy skills and reinforcement of previ- facilitating partnerships between them ously acquired knowledge. Evaluations and trusted NGOs, service providers, researchers found that “the only activities also showed the need to strengthen skills donors and decentralized government that had been totally accomplished and of the Community Management Commit- services. ECN projects are related to the with an unprecedented rate of success tees for the sustainability of all activities. environment (solar electrification, waste within the framework of the Government Current CMC training modules ensure that management, solar cookers); health (fam- National Action Plan of 2000–2005 were projects and activities begun during the ily planning services, construction of those implemented by the NGO Tostan in program continue into the future. community health centers, further training terms of nonformal education and social for health agents); and economic empow- mobilization activities.” The government Inside our organization, we have built in erment (micro-finance, small businesses, Tostan’s interactive literacy workbooks on democracy, and their partners decided to adopt assessment of our work from the ground agricultural projects). human rights, problem-solving, hygiene and health Tostan’s human rights-based model as the up. In 2006, donors provided funds to re- not only build literacy skills but also reinforce themes centerpiece of their National Action Plan to inforce Tostan’s evaluation practices; we discussed in class and allow review and sharing of end FGC 2009–2015. have strengthened our data collection information with friends and relatives.
18 19 Foundation, Jacob and Hilda Blaustein the University of Dakar in African Studies. Through a special Foundation, James R. Greenbaum Jr. After her program ended, she decided to partnership with the Family Foundation, JustWorld Interna- remain in Senegal. Through her work both Barefoot College in India, Tostan graduates tional, Los Angeles Trusteeship, Nike in Dakar and in rural villages, Molly began travel there to learn to Foundation, Radio Sweden Foundation, to notice that a lack of basic education in become solar engineers. Rapidan Foundation, Sigrid Rausing Trust, national languages was impeding develop- These grandmothers Spanish International Cooperation Agen- ment in many communities. Villagers were will be fully equiped to cy, Swedish International Development intelligent and motivated but lacked impor- bring solar energy to Agency, UNFPA, UN Foundation, USAID, tant information and skills needed for mak- their communities and Valvisions Foundation, Wallace Global ing improvements in their communities. become role models for Fund and Wallace Research Foundation. the entire community. Individual donations, whether large or These observations spurred the devel- small, continue to support and inspire our opment of an initial nonformal educa- work. tion program. For three years, Molly and a team of Senegalese cultural specialists Tostan donors helped to Two nonprofit organizations now support worked with villagers in the rural commu- construct an international Tostan’s work: Tostan France in Paris and nity of Saam Njaay to develop education- training center in Thiès, Senegal. Since 2006, This has become a dangerous form of child Tostan Sweden in Stockholm. These orga- al materials based on African traditions What other activities does Tostan has received exploitation, which was outlawed in Sene- nizations disseminate information about and learning styles, which focus on dia- thousands of trainees Tostan carry out? gal in 2005 but has visibly persisted. A new Tostan through updating the media about logue and active participation. This early from the development component of the CMC training program Tostan’s accomplishments, speaking in program became a forum for women to community in Senegal Tostan implements the CEP in prisons in empowers communities to take responsi- schools and other educational forums, discuss their own needs and hopes and and across the African Senegal. The Early Release Prison Project bility for the protection of all children in fundraising within the European commu- encouraged them to take a more active continent. provides human rights and skills training their community and find solutions to this nity and working with the diaspora. They role in community development. to facilitate prisoners’ reintegration into and other issues related to the violation of have also interacted with government society, allowing them to return to their children’s rights. agencies and officials as they develop poli- communities with new perspectives for cies for international aid. social and economic success. Tostan also How is Tostan funded? conducts mediation sessions to improve In addition, we have a vibrant volunteer communication between prisoners and Tostan’s success is the result of contribu- program with over 40 volunteers contrib- their families. tions by hundreds of donors, including uting annually to our mission. Volunteers foundations, agencies and individuals. come from all over the world and enhance We have taken up one “issue-based” UNICEF has been a very important long- our ability to take a much needed interdis- project—child begging—which arose out time collaborator, supporting us as we ciplinary and global approach to issues in of our concerns for the health and human refined our educational program and or- our work. rights of Senegalese children. Tostan is ganizational structure. The following do- currently providing specialized training on nors have also greatly contributed to our child protection for its CMCs, especially in ability to reach new communities and What are some critical rural areas where parents send their chil- design innovative strategies: American moments in Tostan’s history? dren to Koranic schools, known as daaras, Jewish World Service, Annenberg Foun- located in larger cities. Because fami- dation, Anonymous Donors, Bill and Me- Founded in 1991, the origins of Tostan lies cannot pay for this schooling, some linda Gates Foundation, Communidad date back to 1974, when founder Molly Koranic teachers support themselves by de Madrid, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Melching moved from the United States forcing their students to beg in the streets. Forum Syd, Gail and Tom Kaneb Family to Dakar to complete graduate work at
20 21 the regions of Thiès and Kolda. On Febru- women and children, they were excluding had learned in the Tostan program and ary 7, 1991, Tostan was officially incorpo- key members of society who could play a declared an end to harmful practices in rated as a US 501(c)(3) nongovernmental decisive role in community improvement. their communities. In a village where one organization. With support from UNICEF, Thus, modules that had initially discussed hundred percent of the women had previ- Tostan subsequently expanded to over 55 “women’s rights” or “children’s rights” ously undergone FGC, participants decided communities. This initial implementation were rewritten in 2000 as “human rights,” to discontinue this practice in order to pro- was presented as a “path to discovery,” in and men were invited to attend classes tect the human rights and health of their which villagers typically played an active and participate more actively in the daughters. On July 31st, 1997, 30 women role in improving the program. Since this development process. announced their decision to abandon FGC original implementation, we have contin- in front of 20 national and international ued to revise our program based on par- One outcome of our participatory educa- journalists. However, they did not receive ticipant feedback. tional approach has been community-led a supportive response from neighboring movements to improve community health. villages. In 1995, Tostan conducted a one- The story of how villagers decided to aban- year participatory research effort with don FGC and child/forced marriage illus- A local religious leader and class A participant in the thousands of former participants to assess trates how Tostan’s staff both supports participant named Demba Diawara came Gambia learns how to new educational themes of interest. and learns from its program participants. to Tostan to explain that such ambitious discuss the different Women overwhelmingly stated their In 1997, Tostan participants in the village social change could never be achieved stages of pregnancy desire to learn about their own bodies. The of Malicounda Bambara applied what they by one village alone. Where FGC is with her family. survey showed high interest in learning about systems of the body, puberty, the reproductive cycle, menopause, sexuality and best practices for good health. The Tostan pedagogical team realized that it was critical to introduce human rights education before these sessions, as it became evident that knowledge of health issues alone would not be useful without an understanding of human rights. (Top image) Grandchildren Discussions with villagers about the of the first participants of problems in their communities allowed Following this assessment, Tostan the Tostan program in Molly and her team to further refine the introduced democracy and human rights Saam Njaay now go to program. In 1987, they designed a six- modules into the education program and school every day. module basic education program based a peaceful grassroots revolution began. on the feedback that they had received in Democracy and human rights learning (Bottom image) Molly Melching studied Saam Njaay. Their program differed both became the foundation for other subject with Cheikh Anta Diop in methodology and content from existing matters. Women participants became from 1975-1986. Tostan’s literacy programs which relied mostly on more proactive in their communities. They work is grounded in the rote learning and memorization rather were empowered to speak out for the first philosophy of Diop’s than active discussion and participation. time and make important decisions about work on the cultural their own and their children’s health. In unity of Africa. Starting in 1988, Molly collaborated with addition, men gradually became more UNICEF Senegal to train local facilitators to involved in the Tostan program. The Tostan implement the program in rural villages in team realized that by focusing solely on
22 23 (Left image) Imam and practiced as a tradition, it is required Village Chief Demba for a girl to marry into another fam- Diawara is a major leader of ily, frequently in another village. Thus, the movement to abandon ending the practice requires consensus FGC in West Africa. among the intra-marrying group. Diawara
therefore decided to walk from village to (Center image) The public declaration in Senthiou village to raise awareness about FGC in Maleme brought together his interconnected communities. On Feb- relatives from over one ruary 14, 1998, 12 villages declared their hundred villages in Senegal decision to join the Malicounda Bambara and Guinea. pledge.
(Bottom image) African American scholar Gerry Mackie rein- women love their daughters forced Diawara’s insights. In 1996, Mackie and want them to succeed. had published an article comparing the That is why they practiced FGC and why they are now practice of FGC to the tradition of foot abandoning. binding in China, which was rapidly and universally abandoned in the early part of the 20th century. Because both prac- tices were linked to marriageability, he suggested that FGC could be ended in Af- rica in a manner similar to the way foot binding had been abandoned in China: through a locally based process of em- powering education, dissemination of information by the people themselves, collective deliberation and public declara- tion. Collaboration with Professor Mackie allowed Tostan to add theory to practice, and Mackie’s version of “Social Conven- Gambia. The program has been requested possible to totally end Female Genital The women of tion Theory” has since served as a model by many in other African countries. Cutting in Senegal by 2015. Malicounda Bambara for Tostan activities. celebrated the 10th Meanwhile, the movement for the Tostan’s holistic, nonformal educational anniversary of their In 2000, after unprecedented success with abandonment of FGC and child/forced program has created dynamic spaces decision to abandon FGC in 1997. Delegates democracy and human rights modules marriage is accelerating, with more than for democracy, human rights, life-long from all regions of in hundreds of villages, we revised our three fourths of previously practicing learning and development to flourish. Senegal and other African curriculum, placing these modules at the communities in Senegal declaring an By encouraging dialogue about the countries renewed their beginning, as the foundation for the entire end to these harmful practices. The democratic processes and human rights determination to improve program. Government of Senegal officially adopted already embedded in villagers’ local health and human rights the Tostan model for its National Action contexts, Tostan helps participants link throughout Africa. Tostan is currently implementing the CEP Plan for the Abandonment of Female their understandings to larger global ef- in Djibouti, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Genital Cutting 2009-2015. Through this forts to expand and promote democracy Mauritania, Senegal, Somalia and The concerted effort, many feel it is now and human rights for all Africans.
24 25 Tostan’s work is award What have others said Families now have a winning: In 2007, Tostan common vision for the about Tostan? future: a vision based on respect for human rights won the Conrad N. Hilton and responsibilities. “We have participated in the Tostan program and have learned about Humanitarian Prize for our human rights to health, hygiene, “extraordinary contributions education, information and above all the right to be protected against all forms toward alleviating human suffering” of violence. This is why we are engaged in abandoning all practices harmful to and the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy our health. Today we are even more in harmony with our traditions and culture. Prize for advancing health through We are more Bambara than ever. The literacy. In the same year, Molly program allowed us to become more conscious of our traditions because it Melching and the women of Senegal gave us the opportunity to reinforce our positive traditions and to weed out those were named People of the Year by that were harmful to our well-being. We have changed because we are now more OneWorld voters across the planet. In responsible and united, proud of what 2005, Sweden’s Anna Lindh Award binds us together.” Why has Tostan’s participants, never against them or as ex- –Mayamouna Traoré, was given to Tostan for its innovative perts from the outside. The partnership President of the Women’s Group of community-led between our staff and our participating Malicounda Bambara. human rights work. development been both communities is mutually empowering, each responsive to and learning from “Tostan’s approach succeeds because successful and sustainable? the other. of its deep respect for the people it serves. The Tostan nonformal education Tostan has worked at the grassroots Tostan ensures sustainability by building program is comprehensive, leading to level with thousands of village communi- leadership capabilities through its training the development of the whole individual ties in many African countries, learning of members of each village CMC. When and the community, both socially and from participants about their priorities, participants have completed the educa- economically. What most impressed me values, and hopes for the future. Such tional program, most CMCs remain active when I met the women in this program deep knowledge of local conditions has and engaged in community development is the confidence they demonstrate while resulted in innovative strategies that efforts. Tostan also fosters sustainabil- discussing the profound changes they are context-sensitive and responsive to ity through its Empowered Communities have made in their communities, based villagers’ lives and experiences. Because Network (ECN). This project facilitates on their application of human rights and Tostan’s pedagogical methods encour- partnerships between the most dynamic responsibilities. The Tostan experience age lively participation and reflection, CMCs that have completed the program has renewed my faith in education as the organization receives constant par- and African and international NGOs, the key to achieving positive social Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations and Steven ticipant feedback and adapts quickly to government projects, donors and other transformation and poverty reduction M. Hilton, President and CEO of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation changing circumstances. Tostan’s staff service providers. around the world. presented the Hilton Prize to Tostan representatives Molly Melching, and volunteers work with and alongside –Then-Senator” Hillary Rodham Clinton Oureye Sall, and Malick Diagne on September 12, 2007.
26 27 “All the time, after class, we talk about “What I like about Tostan in the Gambia Tostan. On our way to fetch water, or with is the improvement we are making in the the children, we talk about what we learn lives of very poor people. What people and the importance of this education. It are learning from Tostan classes they are helps us. It improves our minds. We now able to immediately practice, particularly know our human rights and we always for better health, human rights, and talk about them. We talk about how to democracy. In villages where Tostan is improve our family and our work. working, you can really see a difference. –Nansa Darameh, Village ”Midwife People are doing their own development and class participant which they can sustain on their own, without depending on the government, “Tostan has mobilized over 4000 NGOs, or other outside help. communities to declare the abandonment –Edrissa Keita - Women’s Bureau” - Tostan of Female Genital Cutting, a dangerous Government Partner in the Gambia and potentially life-threatening procedure that causes unspeakable pain and suffering to girls and women who are “Perhaps the most successful effort subjected to it. Last year, I visited a to end (female genital) cutting is that of Tostan community in Senegal. Several Tostan, a West African group that takes a women gave very personal statements very respectful approach and places FGC on the positive change that had been within a larger framework of community a direct result of Tostan. Participatory development. Rather than lecturing the education programs improved the women, the programs’s representatives skills and knowledge of women and encourage villagers to discuss the human girls, empowering them to become rights and health issues related to cutting self-confident and able to impact and then make their own choices. The Tostan has shown that “Human rights can be protected. Child “Humanitarian intervention demands social transformation and economic program’s soft sell has worked far better community initiatied, marriage can be prevented. Forced not only hard work but also originality of development in their communities. than the hard sell. owned and managed marriage and excision can be stopped. vision. It would be hard to match Tostan… –Ann M. Veneman,” –Nicolas Kristof” and Sheryl WuDunn, activities lead to Before we learned about human rights, in the quality of innovative thinking it has Executive Director, UNICEF, NY Half the Sky, page 224. positive and sustainable men hit their wives, but after this brought to its dedicated work, against development. education from Tostan, these beatings seemingly impossible odds. There are are now stopping, in our homes, in our many great things about Tostan and its “When the history of African develop- society. Through this Tostan education, leadership but the most important is (its) ment is written, it will be clear that a we have now really begun to understand freshness of approach and ability to think turning point involved the empowerment that these things must stop. We now differently. of women. Tostan has demonstrated that stand together, chatting, doing things ” –Amartya Sen, empowerment is contagious, accom- together. We all come together like Nobel Laureate in Economics plished person by person and spreading brothers and sisters. This is why I really village by village. They are writing a story appreciate this and am happy and hope of inspiration, hard work, grass roots that tomorrow will bring more of this participation, tangible results, and a much education! brighter future. ”–Sannebou Keita, Tostan Class –William H. Foege,” M.D., M.P.H. - Senior Participant in The Gambia Advisor, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
28 29 Further information Gillespie, Diane. “Villagers Agree to End Panet, Sabine. “’C’est Comme ça que ça This brochure was written by Diane Gillespie, Female Genital Cutting.” Seattle Post Germe’ - Changement Social au Sénégal: Le Professor, University of Washington Bothell. Please see our website at www.tostan.org Intelligencer, January 21, 2007. Cas de l’ONG Tostan.” In Repenser L’Action Collective: Une Approche par les Capabilités, This brochure was designed by Maggie Dich, Selected Bibliography Gryboski, Kristina, et al. “Working with the edited by Parul Bakhshi, et al. Paris: Double Eight Design, LLC. Armstrong, Sally. “Not my Daughter” Home- Community for Improved Health.” Health L’Harmattan, 2008. maker’s, (November–December, 1998): 55-83. Bulletin, no. 3. Washington, DC: Population © 2009 Tostan Reference Bureau, 2006. http://www.prb.org/ Tostan: Breakthrough in Senegal: The Process Burman, Erica T. “An End to Cutting: Women of pdf06/WorkingWithTheCommunity.pdf that Ended Female Genital Cutting in 31 Image credits Senegal Declare a Dangerous Tradition’s End.” Villages. Washington DC: Molly Melching, Worldview 17, no. 3 (2004): 23–31. Kasdon, Louisa. “A Tradition No Longer: Population Council, 1999. (Cover): © Jessica Brandi Lifland Rethinking Female Circumcision in Africa.” (Page 2-3): © Sabine Panet Diop, Nafissatou, et al. The Tostan Program: World & I: Innovative Approaches to Peace, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. “Changing (Page 4): © Tostan Evaluation of a Community-based Education (November–December, 2005): 66–73. a Harmful Social Convention: Female Genital (Page 5): © Jessica Brandi Lifland Program in Senegal. Frontiers Final Report. Mutilation/Cutting.” Innocenti Digest. Florence, (Page 6): © Tostan Population Council, 2004. Kristof, Nicolas and WuDunn, Sheryl. Half the Italy: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2005. (Page 7) © Jennifer Mills Baldé http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/frontiers/FR_ Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for http://www.unicef-icdc.org/publications/pdf/ (Page 8-9): © Tostan FinalReports/Senegal_Tostan%20FGC.pdf Women Worldwide. New York: Alfred A. Knopf fgm-gb-2005.pdf. (Page 10): © Jessica Brandi Lifland 2009. (Page 11): © Molly Melching (Top) Replication of the Tostan Programme in UNICEF. Changing a Harmful Social © Jennifer Mills Baldé (Bottom) Burkina Faso: How 23 Villages Participated in Mackie, Gerry. “Ending Footbinding Convention: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, (Page 12): © Gail Kaneb a Human-Rights-based Education Programme and Infibulation: A Convention Account.” Innocenti Digest, 12. Florence, Italy: UNICEF (Page 13): © Gail Kaneb and Abandoned the Practice of Female Genital American-Sociological-Review 61 (1996): Innocenti Research Centre, 2005. (Page 14): © Myriam Dems Cutting in Burkina Faso. Population Council, 999–1017. (Page 15): © Jessica Brandi Lifland 2003. http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/frontiers/ WHO. Eliminating Female Genital Mutilation: (Page 16): © Gail Kaneb reports/burkina_fgc_process_eng.pdf Mackie, Gerry. “Female Genital Cutting: The An Interagency Statement (ONCHR, UNAIDS, (Page 17): © Tostan (Top) Beginning of the End.” In Female Circumcision UNDP, UNECA, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, © Jessica Brandi Lifland (bottom) Easton, Peter, et al. “Social policy from the in Africa: Culture, Controversy, and Change, UNICEF, UNIFEM, WHO, 2008. English: http:// (Page 18): © Gail Kaneb (top) bottom up: Abandoning FGC in sub-Saharan edited by Bettina Shell-Duncan and Ylva www.who.int/reproductive-health/publications/ © Tostan (bottom) Africa.” Development in Practice, no. 13 (2003): Hernlund. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2000. fgm/fgm_statement_2008.pdf and French: (Page 19): © Tostan 445–58. http://www.who.int/reproductive-health/ (Page 20): © Barefoot College Melching, Molly. “Abandoning Female Genital publications/fr/fgm/fgm_statement_2008_fr.pdf (Page 21): © Tostan Fredo, Deborah A. “Women’s Literacy, Cutting in Africa.” In Eye to Eye: Women (Page 22): © Jessica Brandi Lifland (Top) Indigenous Form and Authentic Co-learning: A Practicing Development Across Cultures, edited UNICEF. Long-term evaluation of the Tostan (Page 22) @ Diane Gillespie (bottom) Research Approach to Participatory Training for by Susan Perry and Celeste Schenck. New York: Programme in Senegal: Kolda, Thies and Fatick (Page 23): © Bjorn Westerdahl National Language Literacy in Rural Senegal.” Zed Books, 2001. Regions. Section of Statistics and Monitoring, (Page 24): © Jessica Brandi Lifland (Top) PhD diss., University of Massachusetts Division of Policy and Practice. New York, NY: © Gannon Gillespie (Center) Amherst, 1995. Ministère de la Famille, de la Solidarité UNICEF, 2008. © Jessica Lifland (Bottom) Nationale, de l’Entreprenariat Féminin, (Page 25): © Flavia Coussy Gandaho, Timothee. “Molly Melching: The Republique du Senegal. Evaluation du Plan Platform for Action Towards the Abandonment (Page 26): © Tostan Power of Conviction.” In Making a Difference d’Action National pour l’abandon de la of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C): (Page 27): © REUTERS/Chip East (bottom) for Population and Development: Leaders in Pratique des Mutilations Genitales Feminines. A Matter of Gender Equality. The Donors (Page 28): © Diane Gillespie Action, Vol. 2, edited by M. L. Lieow. The VLP December, 2008. Working Group on Female Genital Mutilation/ (Page 29): © Tostan Consortium, 2006. Cutting, December 2008. (Back cover): © Cody Donahue
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