November 23: A work in progress

Today I came across an interesting article that featured Tostan’s founder, Molly Melching. The Washington Post’s story on FGM and immigration examined the challenges that many circumcised African women faced as they sought asylum in the US. This was not only interesting in that in featured the founder of Tostan, but in that it brought the issue closer to home. While FGM is fairly universally agreed upon as a cruel and torturous practice, it does seem like a very far-removed issue. It is extremely thought-provoking to consider a person feeling the effects of FGM in the U.S. The thought alone seems contradictory, when putting such a primitive practice in as progressive a setting as the U.S. Here is a link to the article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/02/AR2008110202219.html?sub=AR
While the article is commendable in its informative nature, it is especially ground-breaking in that it highlights the heartbreaking effects of the pairing of FGM with the knowledge of how cruel a practice it is. This, essentially, is the realization I’d expect from the people in Africa that were educated by Tostan’s program. It was also interesting to witness Melching’s prevalent and deep understanding of the women, whom she has spent so much of her life working with.
As far as my dealing with Tostan goes, no formal plans have been made. However, my research has certainly generated an inexplicable amount of interest in the subject-- as I hope it has for some of you reading. Planning an event was a bit ambitious for the point in the semester we started, but hopefully by next semester we will have organized ourselves enough to plan something. Molly is still waiting for an answer back from the student government, and I have yet to approach the Marriot with a formal plan.
While I would have liked to have gained experience in the formal sense, and worked along with someone in an actual office setting, my experience was invaluable. I not only heightened my knowledge on a pertinent issue, but feel that I have achieved some level of understanding as to the difficulties one faces as an NGO. I certainly was able to witness the work that goes into being an NGO. My communication with the Tostan organization will hopefully continue and progress, ideally resulting in at least one successful event.