Tostan

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Participant in the Tostan program

Tostan ( Wolof for: breakthrough) is a non-governmental organization that was founded in Dakar , Senegal in 1991 . The organization, based in the district of Yoff , aims to strengthen communities on the basis of human rights and to make their development sustainable.

Over 3000 communities in West and East Africa participated in the informal education program. Over the years this program has been continuously evaluated and modified to meet the needs of the communities as best as possible. In 2008 the program will be implemented in 16 national languages ​​and eight African countries (Senegal, Mauritania , Gambia , Guinea , Guinea-Bissau , Somalia , Sudan , Djibouti , Mali : 2009). The participants are supported in creating their own environment. They acquire knowledge from various areas: human rights, democracy, health, hygiene, literacy, management, accounting and microfinance of their own projects. Knowledge is passed on in a participatory and respectful manner towards the local culture, as traditional African communication methods such as theater, poetry, songs and stories are used.

After the objectives have been agreed, the participants in the program take their development into their own hands.

Emergence

The creation began in the 1970s and 80s. In 1974 Molly Melching, an American student, finished her studies in Senegal. As a specialist in education in African national languages ​​and cultures, she founded the first radio program on Wolof for children in Dakar. She then settled in the Senegalese countryside with a team of Senegalese traditional trainers. There they became aware that many efforts in the field of development aid remain without results because the activities do not meet the real needs of the population.

The educational model developed in the 1980s, while Melching exchanged ideas with village communities, cultural trainers and intellectuals. They were influenced by the theater of the oppressed and the African Renaissance . The educational program originated in the village of Saam Ndiaye in the Thiès region. Initially the program focused on issues of hygiene, health and the management of community projects. The program takes place in the language of the population and uses traditional teaching methods.

The term Tostan , which Molly Melching was suggested by Cheikh Anta Diop, indicates on the one hand the dissemination and sharing of knowledge, but on the other hand it also indicates a development that comes from within and from the independent, united, in their abilities strengthened communities.

activities

The Community Empowerment Program (CEP)

Tostan's Community Empowerment Program is an informal educational program that lasts 30 months and is divided into phases and modules. The CEP is aimed at adults and young people who have often received little or no formal school education. It is carried out in the respective national languages. In order to break away from authoritarian educational methods, Tostan calls the teachers facilitators (a possible translation from English would be: intermediaries or promoters) and the students participants. The Facilitators live in the village where the program takes place and belong to the same ethnic group as the participants. They use traditional communication methods. The first phase of the program is called Kobi (in Mandinka means: preparing the earth to make it fertile) and includes modules on democracy, human rights, problem-solving strategies, hygiene and health. The second phase is called Aawde (means sowing in Fulani) and is dedicated to literacy, arithmetic and management. It is based on what has been learned from the previous phase with the help of interactive sessions and exercise books. At the same time, Tostan trains a Community Management Committee in every village, which is supposed to ensure that community projects can be carried out successfully.

program

  • Holistic (holistic): it contributes to the all-encompassing development of participants and their community by enabling them to work out, implement and sustainably shape community development projects.
  • Focused on the participant and participatory: the program involves both young people and adults in the implementation of joint projects. Tostan provides the participants with practical information that is necessary for the independent design of their environment. The teaching methods consist of interactive exercises such as group work, theater plays, etc. These methods are based on traditional and modern methods of African communication (songs, poetry, stories, dance, personal reports, etc.).
  • Respectful and inclusive: Tostan works with participants by listening to their experiences and ideas. Tostan also works very closely with religious and traditional authorities by including their ideas in the program. The program encourages dialogue and consensus between men and women, young and old, social classes, ethnic groups, castes and different religions.
  • Forward-Looking: At the beginning of the program, participants set goals for the future of their community. The knowledge acquired enables participants to achieve these goals in an organized way. Rather than focusing on shortcomings or spreading value judgments, Tostan encourages participants to reflect and draw on resources that are already available in the community.
  • Interactive: Tostan uses feedback from communities and participants to update and improve the program modules. In addition, the organization is regularly evaluated both internally and externally.
  • Sustainable: collective change that is shaped by the communities must be sustainable. Therefore, Tostan encourages the formation of democratically elected Community Management Committees to continue the achievements of the program. The committees have been trained by the organization and also use participatory and interactive methods.

The goals are among others:

  • Formation of community management committees
  • Reduce maternal and child mortality
  • Enrollment of children and registration of newborns
  • Increase in vaccination rates and pre- and postnatal examinations
  • Prevention of HIV / AIDS
  • Promote family planning and healthy eating
  • Cleaning up or rehabilitation of the villages
  • Reducing domestic violence
  • Implementation of microfinance projects
  • Establishment of conflict resolution committees
  • Women in management positions
  • Collective abolition of circumcision and child / forced marriages

Abolition of circumcision using the example of Senegal

The most significant result of the CEP is the movement to abolish circumcision. This movement is supported by the communities that have directly or indirectly participated in the program. The strategy of capacity building, the promotion of human rights and health, is the result of a program that respects local cultures and is in constant research and action. As a result, this strategy has been adopted by UNICEF on an international level and has been recognized as “ best practice ” by the World Health Organization .

In the mid-1990s, a research project recognized that it was necessary to introduce a module into the educational program that specifically deals with human rights. This modification of the CEP, which took place at the suggestion of the participants, triggered an unparalleled movement. Entire groups decided to jointly abolish circumcision, child and forced marriage. This was done for the first time by the women of the village of Malicounda Bambara (Senegal) who had taken part in Tostan's program. These women chose to apply what they had learned about health and human rights. On July 31, 1997, the village swore in front of a group of journalists and NGO representatives to give up circumcision, child and forced marriage. Despite hostile reactions from neighboring villages, the Imam, Demba Diawarra, was convinced of the need to end these practices, which were dangerous for women and girls. He realized that this could only succeed if all Bambara villages in the region were included in the discussion. After a long awareness-raising work, he managed to bring together 13 villages that wanted to put an end to circumcision. These villages were linked by marriage traditions. On February 14, 1998, the first public declaration took place in which several villages advocated human rights and the health of women and girls. Professor Gerry Mackie (University of California in San Francisco) worked on this event scientifically in two essays after he had learned about the events around Tostan in Senegal. One of the articles appeared in 1996, the second in 2000. His comparison of circumcision with the practice of tying the feet in China made it clear that an organized and coordinated abolition within a marriage group must take place by means of a public declaration. In fact, circumcision, like the tying of the feet, can become a condition of a girl's ability to marry within a marrying group. Foot tying was practiced in China until the beginning of the 20th century. The tying of the feet and circumcision are social conventions. Changing this with a public declaration allows the girl to marry, as she is respected and considered "marriageable" even without circumcision or ankle tying.

These findings and experiences made Tostan and his partners, such as Unicef, aware that the program needs to be implemented in a more organized way: information on health and human rights is disseminated in villages that are linked by marriage structures. In doing so, collective decision-making is stimulated and facilitated. In practice, the program is carried out in key villages or in a sufficient number of villages in total to achieve a critical mass so that social change can begin. Circumcision as a social convention is abolished. Even without having gone through this practice, girls are considered marriageable. Tostan's experience shows the importance of giving the interconnected communities the opportunity to meet and discuss with local and religious authorities in a more formal setting. Tostan's experience also shows that social change in relation to health and democracy is decisively accelerated when the individual communities know their human rights. In addition to this inclusive approach, respect for people and their culture is the key to Tostan's success. For example, Tostan does not use the term “sex mutilation” but the word “circumcision” (female genital cutting in English or excision in French). For Tostan, the word "mutilation" carries a subliminal negative judgment. However, mothers first and foremost want their daughters to have a future in their society. Condemning these women as criminals creates defensive attitudes that do not favor dialogue.

Talibé project

In Senegal, thousands of children are sent to religious schools ( Daaras ) by their parents to study the Koran. Due to the family poverty of these Koran students and the lack of financial means in the schools, the children are sent begging by their teacher ( marabout ) to support the Daara. In the streets, they are exposed to aggression, disease and accidents. In school they are sometimes beaten by their teacher if they have not begged the required amount. Tostan's program Talibé (pupil, student, seeker) has two goals: the first is to completely abolish begging by Koran students, and the second to improve the children's living and learning conditions in the short term. In cooperation with other NGOs, the Senegalese government and the marabouts, Tostan initiates various activities: supporting the Daaras and their students (building shelters, providing soap, etc.), mobilizing the communities and the marabouts to ensure the welfare of the Talibés (Support from microcredit, training in project management, raising awareness on human rights, etc.) and raising awareness among parents, the public and the government that there is a need to protect the rights of the Talibés.

Microcredit program

The microcredit program enables participants to put into practice their new math, literacy, and management skills acquired during the Community Empowerment Program. The aim of this program is to give the communities, and especially the women, the opportunity to start small projects that are suitable for improving their quality of life. The organization imparts basic knowledge in basic financial management, the ability to assess the feasibility of a project and then carry it out. The low level loans are administered by the Community Management Committee.

Radio program

Since access to television and the Internet is limited and the illiteracy rate is high, especially in rural areas, the organization has broadcast a radio program in six regions of Senegal since 2001. Each region creates its own program, which takes place in the most widely spoken language in the region. Each radio program enables initiatives started by the program participants (public declarations, demonstrations for human rights, village meetings ...) to be communicated and supported. They are also a means of making villages and communities aware of important issues (health, hygiene, environmental protection, voting rights, etc.). As a result, the radio broadcasts reaffirm behavioral changes and the achievements of the informal education program.

Country representatives

  • Tostan Africa: Tostan International, which takes care of the programs and the coordination of the programs, the donor relations and public relations, is based in Dakar. National coordinators implement the program in the countries in which Tostan is present. ( Thiès in Senegal, Labé in Guinea, Nouakchott in Mauritania, Banjul- Kolele in Gambia, Djibouti-Stadt in Djibouti, Hargeysa in Somaliland / Somalia, Bissau in Guinea-Bissau).
  • Tostan Washington, DC: Tostan's office in the United States oversees relations with donors, international institutions, private foundations, English-language media, the coordination of reports, etc.
  • Tostan France: The NGO Tostan France was founded in 2007 and on the one hand supports the activities of Tostan Africa (search for new partners, placement of qualified volunteers, communication) and on the other hand drives the organized diffusion and the human rights movement among the African diaspora in Europe.
  • Tostan Sweden: This committee, which has been made up of individuals and volunteers since 2004, is dedicated to finding sources of funds and public relations in order to make Tostan's model better known in various fields (university, culture, etc.).
  • Tostan Germany: An interest group that was set up by volunteers in 2011 and whose aim is to make information about the Tostan organization accessible in German-speaking countries.

Partners and awards

The organization is supported by various international institutions (UNICEF, United Nation Population Fund - UNFPA ), bilateral collaborations ( United States Agency for International Development , Agencia Espanola de Cooperción Internacional - AECI, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency), private foundations (Annenberg Foundation, Wallace Global Fund, Wallace Research Foundation, Banyan Tree Foundation, American Jewish World Service, etc.) and private individuals.

In 2005 the organization received the Swedish Anna Lindh Prize for its activities in the field of human rights. In 2007 Tostan was awarded the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize for literacy and the Conrad N. Hilton Prize.

literature

  • Easton Peter, Monkman Karen and Miles Rebecca, “Social policy from the bottom-up: abandoning FGC in sub-Saharan Africa”, Development in practice, Volume 13, n ° 5, 2003, pp.445-447.
  • Gillespie Diane, Melching Molly, The transformative power of democracy and Human rights in non formal education: the case of Tostan, Article en cours d'édition, 2008.
  • Mackie Gerry, "Ending footbinding and infibulation: a convention account," in American Sociological Review, vol. 61, n ° 6, 1996, pp.999-1017.
  • Mackie Gerry, "Abandoning FGC: The beginning of the end", in Bettina Shell-Duncan et Ylva Hernlund (eds), Female Circumcision in Africa: Culture, Controversy and Change Boulder, Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000, Londres, pp. 253-281.
  • Melching Molly, “Abandoning female genital cutting in Africa”, in Susan Perry et Celeste Schenk (eds), Eye to eye, women practicing development across cultures, Zed Books, Londres et New York, 2001, pp.156-170.
  • Panet Sabine, “C'est comme ça que ça germe. Changement social au Senegal: le cas de l'ONG Tostan », in Jean-Luc Dubois, Parul Bakhshi, Anne-Sophie Brouillet, Chantal Duray-Soundron (dirs), Repenser l'action collective, une approche par les capabilités, L ' Harmattan, 2008.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 1 In this article, national languages ​​correspond to local languages ​​such as Wolof, Fulani, Mandinka or Serer
  2. ↑ The Community Empowerment Program of the Community Capacities of Tostan was recognized by the World Health Organization in 2003 during the Second Regional Reproductive Task Force Meeting as "best practice" for community development and for the abolition of circumcision. The World Health Organization sat on this meeting for an expansion of Tostanmodells to other African countries one.
  3. ↑ Gerry Mackie, "Ending footbinding and infibulation: a convention account," in American Sociological Review, vol 61 n ° 6, 1996, pp. 999-1017.
  4. ↑ Gerry Mackie, "Abandoning FGC: the beginning of the end", in Female Circumcision in Africa: culture, controversy and change, Bettina Shell-Duncan and Ylva Hemlund (eds), Boulder, Lynne Rienner Publishers, Londres, 2000, pp. 253-281.
  5. ↑ UNESCO Literacy Prizes 2007
  6. ^ Hilton Humanitarian Prize 2007
  7. ↑ Nick Tattersall at Reuters online, August 12, 2007: Grass roots African group wins top world aid award