Written by Kelly Baxter Greetings to all our Canadian donors and friends! I have just returned from my annual trip to West Africa for Tostan’s annual Board Meeting. This year we visited The Gambia, where, in addition to holding our board meeting, I had the privilege...
In West Africa, over 30,000 women who have participated in Tostan’s Community Empowerment Program (CEP) have become leaders in their villages and local districts. Fatoumatta Jabbie’s story illustrates the potential of women’s leadership when given opportunity, skills,...
Story by Penda Mbaye, Senior Program Officer in Dakar, Senegal Many years ago I was a facilitator of Tostan’s human rights-based education program, the Community Empowerment Program (CEP), in the small district of Hersent in Thiès, Senegal. There, I saw a 15-year-old...
A few years ago, Yama Bathia experienced gender-based violence in her own home. Since that day, she has worked hard to create a safe space for problem solving in her community of Bougnadou Manjaque and to challenge harmful social norms, such as female genital...
20 years ago, Marième Bamba’s life changed in a way she had not expected. Growing up in a Bambara village in rural Senegal, her fate as a woman seemed decided when she was born; becoming a young bride, forgoing formal schooling, starting a family and caring for...
