2016-2023
COMMUNITIES IN CHARGE OF THEIR OWN FUTURES
© Cartier Philathropy / Cyril Le Tourneur
2016-2023
Tostan
Tostan designed a leading model for community-led change which has been implemented in 22 languages across eight African countries. One of Tostan’s most celebrated results is the commitment by over 9,500 communities to put an end to child marriage and female genital mutilation. We have supported Tostan’s efforts in Senegal from 2016 to 2018 and funded its expansion in Gambia and Guinea-Bissau from 2019 to 2023.
CHALLENGE
© Cartier Philathropy
ACTION
Tostan implements a three-year participatory programme which educates young people, adults, elders and religious leaders about human rights, health, sanitation, conflict resolution, economic empowerment and parenting. It also teaches basic literacy and numeracy skills.
This community-led, collaborative model fosters social and behavioural change from the ground up, encouraging villagers to reconsider deeply entrenched and harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation. Communities are also helped to identify local needs and find their own solutions.
Tostan encourages villagers to spread what they have learned outside their communities. This social mobilisation process increases the impact of Tostan’s work, spreading new ideas organically from person to person, and from one community to another.
IMPACT
PEOPLE
live in communities publicly committed to ending female genital mutilation (2023)
COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES
established in the countries where Tostan works, contributing to the growth of fair governance and democracy (2021)
INCREASE IN FAMILY PLANNING
in communities that followed Tostan’s programme in Senegal between 2016 and 2018
16 Mar 2020
Molly Melching’s vision of equality
On the occasion of International Women’s day 2020, we asked Molly Melching, founder of our partner organisation Tostan, to share her vision of gender equality and women’s empowerment. Read her exclusive interview.
