Molly Melching
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Molly Melching is the founder and Creative Director of the Tostan Community Empowerment Program (CEP). Tostan (meaning "breakthrough" in the
Wolof language Wolof ( ; , ) is a Niger–Congo language spoken by the Wolof people in much of the West African subregion of Senegambia that is split between the countries of Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, ...
) is a
non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
(NGO) headquartered in Dakar,
Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
whose mission is to empower African communities to bring about sustainable development and positive social transformation based on respect for human rights. Her website, Tostan.org, states "Tostan implements a holistic, three-year empowering education program in African national languages that has engaged over 3,500 rural communities in eight African countries on themes of democracy, human rights, health, literacy, and project management skills". These themes include the abandonment of female genital cutting, the abolishment of child/forced marriage, and female empowerment in leadership positions such as leadership positions in countries across West and East Africa. Melching's expertise is in developing educational materials for use at the community level in Africa, and she helped create the Tostan Model- the informal three-year education program that remains inclusive and promotes awareness of environmental sustainability. Melching's work along with that of Senegalese communities has also contributed to several innovative community development and communication techniques including the model of organized diffusion of information and the use of the public declaration for the abandonment of FGC and child/forced marriage.


Early Work in Senegal

While a student at the University of Dakar in 1974, Melching developed an interest in working with children. She wrote an illustrated children’s book, Anniko, which was published by the New African Editions (NEA). In November 1976, she joined the
Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
on an individual placement to continue developing and publishing books for Senegalese children tailored to their culture and environment. To accomplish this, Melching created the "Demb ak Tey" (Yesterday and Today) Center, which opened in the African Cultural Center, and served street children in the most populated area of
Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...
, the Medina. Using songs, stories, proverbs, theater, and other oral African traditions, Melching and her Senegalese team promoted children's literature pertaining to West African culture. Seeing the popularity of traditional African stories and their potential as a vehicle for education, Molly began a weekly radio program in Wolof, a major national language of Senegal. By including messages on health and the environment, the radio program reached thousands of families with relevant information for improving their lives. In 1982, Melching was awarded a grant from the Spencer Foundation to continue her activities, which encouraged her to remain in
Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
. She moved the children's center to the village of Saam Njaay in the region of
Thiès Thiès (; ; Noon language, Noon: ''Chess'') is the third largest city in Senegal with a population of 391,253 in 2023. It lies east of Dakar on the N2 road (Senegal), N2 road and at the junction of railway lines to Dakar, Bamako and Saint-Louis, ...
. In collaboration with community members and with funding from
USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian United States foreign aid, foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 19 ...
, she and her Senegalese team developed a basic, nonformal education program for rural populations based on their traditions and culture. Melching began collaborating with
UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...
Senegal in 1988 to improve and expand this nonformal education program to other languages and regions of Senegal. Melching focused on women’s distinctive need for literacy training and other kinds of basic education. With
UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...
’s support, the program was extended to thousands of women throughout the country and was also adapted for at-risk, out-of-school adolescents using a basic life skills approach.


Creation and Work With Tostan

In 1991, Melching took the collective lessons and pedagogies developed in Saam Njaay and created a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Tostan. Tostan's centerpiece is the program Melching and others developed in Saam Njaay,
Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
: The Community Empowerment Program. The Community Empowerment Program (CEP) is targeted at both adult and adolescent learners and is always delivered in local languages. The nonformal education approach is based on human rights and is divided into two modules: the Kobi (meaning "to till the soil"), covering democracy, human rights, problem-solving skills, health, and hygiene; and the Aawde (meaning "to plant the seed"), covering local language literacy, small enterprise development, and mathematics. Over the years, the CEP continued to evolve. Recent additions have been integrated into the CEP, including the Reinforcement of Parental Practices Module, which works with parents to stimulate early childhood development and better prepare children for school, and the Peace and Security project, which seeks to establish links between community-led initiatives promoting peace, and regional policymakers. Tostan participants have begun health and hygiene improvement projects leading to the reduction of maternal and infant mortality rates. Furthermore, change has been incited through the reduction of violence against women; dramatically increased rates of vaccinations and pre and post-natal consultation; and led campaigns to enroll girls in school and register thousands of children who had no official birth certificates. They have even begun implementing income-generating activities. Women now participate in decision-making processes and are emerging as leaders. On July 31, 1997, one group of Tostan participants from the village of Malicounda Bambara decided to abandon the ancient practice of female genital cutting (FGC) in their community. Their decision was motivated by the understanding that FGC is harmful to the health of girls and women, violates their human rights, and is not in accordance with their religious and cultural values. As of November 2016, over 7,700 communities in the countries Tostan works have publicly declared their abandonment of FGC and child/forced marriage, including 23 villages in
Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...
in partnership with the NGO Mwangaza Action. FGC continues to be practiced in 28 countries of Africa and is required in many ethnic groups for girls to marry and become respected members of the community.


Distinctions and recognition

1995: UNESCO chose Tostan as one of the most innovative education programs throughout the world and published a brochure on the Tostan experience. 1997: Mrs. Hillary Clinton, wife of former President Bill Clinton, visited a Tostan village; this led to both Mrs. Clinton and former President Clinton paying a special visit to the Tostan Headquarters a year later. 1999: Molly Melching was awarded the University of Illinois Alumni Humanitarian Prize 2002: Ms. Melching received the Sargent Shriver Distinguished Award for Humanitarian Service at the 40th Celebration of the Peace Corps. October 2003: The World Health Organization chose Tostan’s education approach as a “Best Practice Model” for community development and ending FGC, calling for further replication and distribution of the model to other African nations. 2005: Tostan won the Anna Lindh Prize for Human Rights 2007: Tostan won two awards: the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
King Sejong Prize for Literacy and the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, the largest humanitarian prize in the world. 2010: Tostan was recognized by the
Skoll Foundation The Skoll Foundation is a private foundation based in Palo Alto, California, Palo Alto, California. The foundation makes grants and investments intended to reduce global poverty. Billionaire entrepreneur Jeffrey Skoll created the foundation in 19 ...
with the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. 2012: Tostan received an ‘Award in Action’ by the
Cécilia Attias Cécilia María Sara Isabel Attias ( Ciganer-Albéniz, formerly Martin and Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa; born 12 November 1957) was the second wife of French president Nicolas Sarkozy until October 2007. Background Cecilia Attias was born Cécilia M ...
Foundation for Women, recognizing their work in improving health systems and maternal care at a community level. Molly Melching was presented with a ‘Women of Impact’ award at the 4th Annual Women in the World Summit in 2013. 2013: Molly Melching was presented with a "Women of Impact" award at the 4th Annual Women in the World Summit in 2013 2015: Molly received the Thomas J Dodd Prize in International Justice and Human Rights for her work with Tostan. She was also awarded the Jury Special Prix in Individual Philanthropy from the BNP Paribas Foundation, and the 2015 University of Illinois Humanitarian Award. Additionally, Ms. Melching received the "World's Children's Honorary Award" for her revolutionary fight against
forced marriage Forced marriage is a marriage in which one or more of the parties is married without their consent or against their will. A marriage can also become a forced marriage even if both parties enter with full consent if one or both are later force ...
, girls' circumcision, and
child marriage Child marriage is a practice involving a marriage or domestic partnership, formal or informal, that includes an individual under 18 and an adult or other child.* * * * Research has found that child marriages have many long-term negative co ...
in
West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
.


However Long the Night

A book about Melching’s work, ''However Long the Night: Molly Melching’s Journey to Help Millions of African Women and Girls Triumph'', was written by Aimee Molloy and published on April 30, 2013. The book shares Melching’s personal experiences that brought her to Africa nearly 40 years ago, the inspiring people she has met along the way, and why she decided to stay. It also recounts Tostan’s founding and the community-led movement for transformative social change being seen in Africa.


References


External links


Alumni Spotlight, LAS, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Molly Melching @ Skoll Foundation

Worldview Interview (Audio)

Remarks on the 1st Anniversary of the International Day of Zero Tolerance of FGC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melching, Molly Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Activists against female genital mutilation Senegalese women's rights activists People in international development Senegalese human rights activists Cheikh Anta Diop University alumni Women founders Senegalese health activists Senegalese women activists