Tostan — Community-Led Change Across West Africa

Founded in Senegal in 1991, Tostan runs its three-year Community Empowerment Program in national languages, covering human rights, health, literacy, and project management. The approach sparked a historic social movement: beginning with Malicounda Bambara in 1997, thousands of communities have publicly declared abandonment of female genital cutting and child marriage. Tostan's model is studied worldwide as a benchmark for respectful, community-led development.