Cheikh Anta Diop explains the Meaning of Tostan
… Thoughts of development began to occupy a lot of her thinking and she was always eager to share them with Cheikh Anta. He was not surprised by what she was observing in the field – how a narrow view of education and development, albeit well intentioned, was ultimately proving to be self-defeating.
“As Africans,” he explained one afternoon, leaning across his desk, “the people of Senegal have their own world vision which is oftentimes quite different from the vision of people who grew up in France, the United States or the rest of the world. A lot of the differences in vision stem from the simple fact that the goals of an African community – particularly in villages — are, at the most basic level, often very different from European goals. “
Molly agreed. The best way to bring about change was for community members to initiate the programs their villages needed most and to be made to feel proud of their African heritage and language. “True social change – true development – seems possible only when you work with the people,” she thought, “when you start with where they are and, with their input, consider what needs to change.”
Relaying this idea to Cheik Anta, he nodded his head in understanding. “For what you describe, there is a perfect Wolof word. Do you know what it is?”
Molly didn’t.
“It’s a beautiful word, very important in our language. Literally the word means the hatching of an egg – the breakthrough moment when the chick emerges from the shell. That chick becomes a hen and lays eggs that it nourishes, and so there are more chicks that become hens and the process continues for generations. For me the word signifies the idea that as people gain new knowledge in a nurturing environment they can reach out and share it with others, who in turn do the same. Until African villagers themselves are capable of educating others in a language familiar to all, we will never achieve the type of development that is truly African. This is a word you should never forget.
Molly was intrigued. “What is the word?” she asked.
Cheikh Anta paused and smiled. “Tostan.”
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