By Judy McFarlane
I first learned about Tostan several years ago when I met Gail Kaneb and Kelly Baxter. They told me about Molly Melching and what she had accomplished in Senegal and The Gambia. I bought Molly’s book, However Long the Night, and began to understand how she had achieved something remarkable by focusing on local empowerment and human rights education. We were inspired to donate to Tostan because we could see how effective it was in bringing about sustainable, community led change but most importantly creating the conditions for women to lead. In the following years, our donations helped to fund the expansion of Tostan in The Gambia where we are thrilled to see women from Tostan villages being elected to local councils.
Last year, my husband Jim and I joined Gail, Kelly, and others on a trip to Senegal and The Gambia. I have wanted to find ways to include our three children and their partners in our philanthropy more than we had already, and this trip seemed like a wonderful opportunity to do that. Luckily, our daughter-in-law, Kelsey, married to our son David, was able to join us.
On my flight over to Senegal, I started to feel unwell, and unfortunately, I became quite sick within a few days, and so my husband and I returned home early. We asked Kelsey if she would like to continue on the trip, and she told us she would love to do that. Kelsey has given us a wonderful account of her trip to Senegal and The Gambia, and I think it’s fair to say that it was life-changing for her. Thank you to Gail, Kelly, and the others on the trip for taking Kelsey under your wings.
In the years that I have been involved with philanthropy, I’ve learned that visiting an organization where it’s located and meeting people in the organization gives a depth of understanding that cannot be achieved with reports read at home.
We will continue to support the important work of Tostan, and their transformational but respectful approach to changing the lives of women and girls.