Novemeber 7: First Live Interaction!

Tonight I met with Molly, the Tostan intern from AU. Meeting with a peer provided for an unmatched level of comfort. I’m glad that we ended up meeting in person before Gannon and I did in that I felt very comfortable asking her questions about Tostan. More importantly, Molly and I were more on the same page. She acknowledged that Gannon was a bit ambitious in trying to form a group at AU, and we spoke about more realistic approaches we could take. She told me that Gannon would be more than willing to come speak at AU, which we decided would be a good plan in determining how much interest there is here in terms of FGM. She decided to email student government and see what kind of event we could come up with. So far, things look promising.
Molly was able to inform me about Tostan and about her position-- as Gannon had discussed me taking her place after she graduates. Her description of the office and of her position made it seem like a relatively small NGO. Her position is not paid and she doesn’t do anything substantial aside from some occasional research for Gannon. From what I gather, it seems like Gannon more or less does it all and her position is to file and such. She talked about the DC office as if it was not substantial in comparison with other Tostan offices. I found this strange being that the DC Tostan office is America’s only branch.
I also learned that Tostan is the only Senegal-run program in the area. She told me that a large portion of the staff is Senegalese, which helps to make Tostan’s work highly effective. She discussed how interesting it is to work there and actually witness progress being made. Although she more or less does meaningless work, she said that this portion of her job makes it very worthwhile.
From my meeting with Molly and a brief perusing of the Tostan website (www.tostan.org), I feel that I finally have a general idea of what Tostan is about. From the community service center and the pamphlet they gave me, I was under the impression that Tostan was an organization dedicated solely to the issue of FGM. However, it turns out that their general focus is on human rights-- clearly FGM falls into this category. My discussion with Molly and the website did lead to a noticeable tendency to emphasize FGM, presumably a primary focus of Tostan. Generally speaking, Tostan’s mission is to “empower African communities to bring about sustainable development and positive social transformation based on respect for human rights.” Indeed, the name Tostan itself--which means “breakthrough” in the West African language of Wolof-- is apt. Tostan is internationally recognized by the international community for their groundbreaking work, even winning the prestigious Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize. Indeed, Tostan’s approach is highly successful and unique. Its innovative approach involves necessary moderation and compromise. Tostan provides a holistic 30-month education program to thousands of African communities. This non-formal education program is taught in local languages and with African oral traditions. In fact, over 99% of Tostan’s paid staff is African. This automatically provides a level of trust and comfort in those they are trying to help. While Tostan benefits greatly from worldwide support, they maintain a vested interest in local, grassroots empowerment. Tostan takes the unique approach at attacking the root of a problem. Perhaps their success can be largely attributed to this.
Their unique Community Empowerment Program allows for the empowerment of African communities to make sustainable development and changes. With current operations in Senegal, Guinea, The Gambia, Mauritania, Somalia, and Djibouti, Tostan is clearly applying their approach to a variety of places-- many of which struggle greatly with the problem of FGM. While ending FGM was not one of Tostan’s initial objectives, it has grown into a pertinent issue for Tostan, and one with which they have had relatively great success. Tostan is especially notable in their approach. They do not try to force their opinions on anyone, but simply provide education and hope that change will be the ultimate result. They provide the information and let the people draw their own conclusions. This does not belittle anyone or cross any already-thin boundaries. In offering education sans opinions, they are simultaneously offering their respect and their confidence in the African peoples’ ability to draw the right conclusions from what they are taught. I find this approach extremely admirable. Simple but smart, the approach attacks the root of the problem by spreading the word to people with the expectation that they will then teach others what they have learned.