News & Stories from the Field
Scaling Systems Change: Norms that Transform
Tostan CEO Elena Bonometti hosted a conversation with Faustina Fynn-Nyame and Dr. Rebecka Lundgren. Faustina Fynn-Nyame is the Executive Director for Africa and Sector lead for Child Health and Development, at The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) and Dr....
Tostan Guinea COVID19 Update
CONAKRY - Guinea experienced its first imported case of COVID 19 on March 12, 2020 and total cases number 4,372 as of this writing. Guinea’s first case was declared in the midst of political unrest due to a legislative election and a referendum ballot for the adoption...
Walk On My Own Awards
BYKids Walk On My Own documentary won the Gender Equity Prize 2020, from the Prix Jeunesse International. Told through the perspective of then 13-year-old Ndèye Fatou Fall, who directed the short film, Walk on My Own recounts how her life has been affected by profound...
Tostan Guinea Bissau COVID-19 Update
BISSAU - The COVID-19 global health pandemic has proven to be a major test of our collective action. Globally and locally, communities are finding new ways to prioritize their health. With the support of their trained Community Management Committees (CMC), Tostan’s...
Scaling Systems Change Webinar #2: Norms that Transforms
Tostan is hosting its second interactive practitioner conversation on systems change on June 22nd. This webinar, with and for ecosystem weavers, will focus on norms that transform, from gender-based violence to gender equality. Tostan CEO Elena Bonometti will...
Scaling Systems Change: Co-creating the Way
Co-Creating the Way In this first of a series on Systems Change, Tostan CEO Elena Bonometti hosted an interactive conversation with two recognized ecosystem weavers, Sybil Chidiac and Sanjay Purohit, on the techniques and technologies that lead to multi-sectoral and...
Tostan Gambia COVID 19 Update
Basse - Currently, in The Gambia, there are 23 confirmed cases, 1 death, 10 recovered patients and 6 others at the treatment centers. The President of the Republic made a public declaration on COVID 19 on March 17th, 2020 to suspend all educational classes and weekly...
Informational Booklets on COVID-19
Let's Protect our Families and Communities From Coronavirus Tostan is offering our informational booklets on the coronavirus and COVID-19 publicly. It is underway in English, French, Portuguese, Creole, Wolof, Pulaar, Mandinka, Oniyan, Maninka, and Bamanankan. Check...
Embracing Complexity
April 30, 2020 Engagement Opportunity Funding Systems Change: A Webinar for Practitioners Option A: April 30, 9:30 - 11:00am CEST: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIuduqorDksHNNYN09hmIbs3XrKYLC5AdZv Option B: April 30, 5:00 - 6:30pm CEST:...
Grassroots Systems Change Wisdom to Prevent COVID-19
Sub-Saharan Africa is in the early days of the regional spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, with currently just over 3,900 confirmed cases. The World Economic Forum, and others have warned that COVID-19 could intensify in regions that lack the infrastructure to plan...
An Update from Tostan About COVID-19
We continue to monitor the health risks and responses to the COVID 19 virus here in West Africa. Our shared work is more important now than ever, as we see direct correlations between community management, collaboration with government, and long-term health of...
When She Leads Everyone Succeeds: Tostan and Global Affairs Canada Announce Initiative for Women and Girls
6,000 women and girls in rural Senegalese villages will participate in Tostan’s Community Empowerment program thanks to a $3.9 million partnership with Global Affairs Canada. As Canada celebrates the “Year of Canada in Senegal,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited...
Shifting social norms in southwest Ethiopia: What Lale learned at the Tostan Training Center
“My experience at the Tostan Training Center was extremely insightful,” says Lale Labuko, “and greatly impacted my way of thinking and leading, as well as the course of action at Omo Hope. It helped me to see a different approach to solving our current challenges....
Community comes together to support young Hawa’s education
Hawa is a 14-year-old girl from Sare Mamudou, one of the 30 communities undergoing Tostan’s Community Empowerment Program (CEP) in the Gambia. She is an exemplary student who ranked first of her 6th grade class in early 2019. Hawa’s father passed away when she was in...
Empowered CMC leads the way to sustainable health for women and children in Song Kunda!
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” This African proverb is ever so fitting to Song Kunda, a remote village located in the Upper River Region, Kantora District, and one of the first villages in the Gambia to participate in...
Tostan awarded 4-star rating by Charity Navigator in 2019
Tostan has attained a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for demonstrating strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency. This is the highest possible rating from the leading nonprofit evaluator in America. It indicates that...
Tostan joins Melinda Gates’ Moment of Lift: Scaling Wellbeing for Women and Girls in Three Countries
For media enquiries, please contact SuzanneBowles@Tostan.org In her much awaited first ever book “The Moment of Lift,” Melinda Gates identifies Tostan Founder, Molly Melching, as a quiet hero and one of her teachers. She credits her with imparting the...
Walk On My Own: A film about how Tostan sparks profound, positive changes for women and girls premieres during the UN Commission on the Status of Women
On screen, a 13-year-old girl is singing and dancing, her eyes bright with laughter. Microphone clipped to the back of her dress, she picks up her video camera and moves through her village to the next location for the film she is making. In the audience, now...
Ndeye Fatou’s Story: Walk On My Own
Create your own Circle of Change Invite your friends and family into a conversation around Walk On My Own using our party and discussion kit. It includes: An invitation from Tostan’s Founder and Creative Director, Molly Melching Context about Walk on My Own and Tostan...
Religious Leaders at the Forefront of Social Transformation
Since 1991, Tostan has engaged local religious leaders in supporting communities’ efforts to end violence against girls and women and create a new vision for wellbeing. These partnerships are one of many strategies in a deep and growing movement leading to positive...
