Tostan | Our Programs | The Community Empowerment Program

Starting the Program
Villages learn about Tostan’s program in a variety of ways, most often by word of mouth. When a village has requested Tostan’s Community Empowerment Program and funding is available, the community is informed about what Tostan provides and what it must contribute.

Villages understand that they will receive a systematic curriculum for the classes, a chance to interact and discuss what they are learning, and a trained facilitator whose stipend is paid by Tostan. In turn, the villages must provide a meeting place for the classes and feed and house the facilitator, who lives in the community. These mutual commitments are meant to ensure that the communities with whom we work take ownership of the program and understand that the program is a partnership whose success depends on their active engagement and participation.

Classes
Each village runs two classes of 25 to 30 participants – one for adults and one for adolescents – that meet three times per week over the course of the program. By holding separate classes for the two groups, Tostan ensures that both younger and older generations can participate and contribute comfortably in the classroom while gaining the tools and confidence to actively apply what they learn in their community.

The first phase is called the Kobi, a Mandinka word meaning “to prepare the field for planting.” Participants attend over 100 two-hour-long sessions over a one year period. Unlike many programs, the CEP does not begin with lessons on literacy. Most of our participants have had no access to formal schooling and cannot read or write. Learning these skills can be a difficult and frustrating process, especially in a new environment. Because of this, the Kobi is structured to foster discussion and establish an open, inviting, and comfortable class dynamic. This environment allows our literacy modules to be more effective when they are implemented in the second phase of the program. All information during this phase is shared orally, and facilitators draw on local oral traditions such as song, poetry, and theater to spark debate and dialogue around issues related to the community’s well-being.

Democracy, Human Rights and Responsibilities
Practical lessons on human rights and democracy teach participants the value of mutual respect and cooperation. Participants learn 14 essential human rights and the responsibilities associated with defending and protecting them. These lessons serve as the foundation of our program, as they provide a framework through which many important and often sensitive topics can be discussed productively and respectfully.

Problem Solving
In these sessions, participants learn a general process for solving problems. By first identifying, analyzing, and prioritizing their problems, participants can easily determine and apply appropriate solutions. These lessons help to prepare the community to find concrete ways to implement the lessons they learn in the CEP.

Hygiene
Participants come to understand the importance of personal and community hygiene by learning about germ transmission. Lessons from this theme demonstrate the link between unhygienic practices, from not washing hands with soap to unprotected sex, and their associated health risks. Many sessions address the importance of vaccinations as well as how and when to obtain them.

Health
Through open and honest dialogue, participants gain information on improving their own health, as well as that of their families and communities. Specifically, the health module:

The Aawde, a Fulani word meaning “to plant the seed,” is the second phase of the CEP and constitutes the literacy and economic empowerment component of the Tostan CEP. In the Aawde, participants learn to read and write in their own language and study basic math skills. They gain management skills and learn to select, manage, and implement good projects. This phase builds on and complements the skills and knowledge participants have gained through the Kobi while also helping them to develop new practical skills that can directly contribute to improved living conditions.

Basic Literacy
Participants acquire literacy skills for reading and writing in their own language. They receive books and practice writing various types of texts: correspondence, project proposals, reports, autobiographies, stories, poems, and songs. Tostan’s innovative Jokko initiative, which utilized SMS text messaging as a new and powerful tool to build literacy, was evaluated thoroughly and shown to be effective. As a result, Tostan will integrate these lessons on the use of mobile phones into our standard literacy modules within the Aawde.

Math for Management
Participants learn how to write numbers and perform basic mathematical operations. Each participant receives a calculator and learns how to use it.

Project Management
Participants learn how to conduct a feasibility study as well as how to implement and monitor small projects. Depending on needs and resources, some communities are given microcredit training and modest loans to launch small business ventures, while others are taught how to build and maintain latrines and adapted wood stoves, or how to establish and manage health stations.

Workbook Review
Three interactive Knowledge to Action workbooks reinforce learning. These workbooks cover the following themes: democracy and human rights, health and hygiene, and small-project implementation and management. They help participants review the ideas they learned during the Kobi while practicing their reading and writing skills.