Molly Melching has lived and worked in Senegal since 1974 and founded the international NGO, Tostan, in 1991. Tostan, meaning “breakthrough” in the Wolof language of Senegal, is an organization whose holistic, three-year African-inspired education program has engaged over 3,000 rural African communities in cross-cutting themes of democracy, human rights and responsibilities, peace and security, problem-solving, hygiene and health, literacy, project management skills, and early childhood development. The program has supported millions of African adults and youth to achieve life-transforming results in the areas of governance, health, education, economic growth and the environment, and has led to more than 10,500 communities in eight African countries declaring their intention to abandon female genital cutting and child/forced marriage. Molly and Tostan have received international recognition for their groundbreaking work in the areas of social norm change and human rights education.
Early Childhood to Primary EducationEconomic OpportunityEducationHealthHuman RightsLivelihoodsPeacePeace and Human RightsSanitationWomen's and Girls' Education
West and Central Africa
