Tostan, Inc.

This grant would allow Tostan to tackle gaps in children’s early learning in Senegal through continued expansion of its "Reinforcement of Parental Practices" model. The program is a community-led approach that empowers caregivers with knowledge about early childhood development and practical skills to support their children’s learning. This project will reach 5,500 participants in 110 communities directly, and many more through social mobilization, cooperation with religious leaders, and distribution of children’s storybooks.

This grant will support Tostan to advance social norms that promote gender equality and community well-being through decentralized governance structures in Senegal. Building on its Community Empowerment Program (CEP) model, Tostan will integrate a Strengthening Democracy and Citizen Engagement (SDCE) component to institutionalize women’s enhanced voice, influence, and leadership in community life and ensure that communities can more effectively hold elected representatives accountable. Tostan will partner with an evaluation firm to rigorously assess if and how the intervention contributed to participatory development planning and good governance. (Strategy: International Reproductive Health)

Recent evaluations of the educational performance of primary school students in Senegal show that children are not learning the basic skills needed to become productive and informed citizens. Historically, parents and communities in West Africa have not been involved in the schooling of their children. This grant would allow Tostan to tackle the problem through a community-led approach to change social norms and support parents and families in order to help their children be successful learners. Tostan has a long track record of empowering communities to improve health, gender, and economic conditions and to spread these changed norms and behaviors to surrounding communities. With this grant Tostan would undertake the job of improving attitudes and behaviors with respect to education in more than 300 communities in Senegal, elevating the education of roughly 45,000 young children.