Q&A: So… what are you doing in Senegal?

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The short of it? Or the long of it?

Well, since this is my blog, I suppose I might as well give you the long version – why else would be reading this thing if you weren’t interested?

Surprisingly, although Tostan is an organization that was founded in Senegal and is fairly well-known throughout the country, it wasn’t until I had returned to the University of Minnesota for my senior year (the first time around) that I came across Tostan. For a class on international education reform, I assessed the ways in which Tostan amplified the impact of its adult basic education program through community outreach and “adopt-a-friend” and “adopt-a-village” efforts. This eventually led to my senior thesis during which I analyzed the success of social change through social mobilization. Tostan’s approach of adult basic education (with an emphasis on building a foundation in human rights), supporting community capacity-building, and mobilizing support for change through social networks (a key consideration when working in West Africa due to the weight of ethnic ties, even across borders) is the only approach that’s been recognized by the UN and the Senegalese Government as bringing about the long-term successful abandonment of female genital cutting.

While looking for internships for the spring semester after my graduation this past December, I applied to Tostan’s offices in Washington DC – for the benefit of networking in the DC-area and to gain grant-writing experience. I had a grand time in Washington DC. I was able to attend several lectures and seminars on areas of interest such as girls’ education, community micro-credit programs, and social movements. Plus, I had Pete and Lucia and Tom (my dad’s brother, sister-in-law and nephew) to visit when I needed some family!

A SHORT TANGENT: One of the more interesting stories from my time in DC was when I attended the National Council of International Visitors (http://www.nciv.org/) annual meeting. It was a great opportunity to explore citizen diplomacy and international exchange thanks to the Minnesota International Center (where I had interned in Fall 2011). At the conference, I met someone who also had a love of Senegal and had spent considerable time in the country. We exchanged contact information and got in touch after the conference to meet for coffee. While talking about where we each lived while in Dakar, we kept on narrowing down the area: Dakar but what neighborhood? Liberte 3, near the stadium. I know that area well, so where exactly? It’s hard to describe – no street names exactly – maybe you know my host family, Famille Fall. Yes! Yes! Turns out her husband’s brother is my host sister’s ex-husband. My host nieces and nephew are her (actual) nieces and nephew!!! Small world! It got even smaller when we realized we were both living in Senegal at the same time, and yet never met one another.

In DC, I discovered that I really connected with Tostan’s mission to support grassroots development through community empowerment and education – letting communities lead their own development and decide their own immediate needs as well as the most appropriate solutions for the local reality. As a way to continue with a great organization, but to continue to develop my skills, I’ve come to Dakar.

It’s not an unpaid internship, it’s not a salaried position. It’s somewhere in the middle. For the next 6 months, I’ll be supporting the grants department like before however this time I’ll be doing more with project management and reporting (thanks Lucia for the great resources!). At this point, I’ve only been at the office 2-3 days. I still need to meet with my two supervisors to fully narrow down my job position since this role was created just for me – I didn’t apply to a posting, but rather expressed interest in continuing with Tostan and Tostan created this position for me. For you and for me, I hope that I can better express my role in a few weeks time once I’ve settled in.

For more information about Tostan:

Tostan’s website – http://www.tostan.org/

A great New York Times article about Tostan’s work – http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/10/16/world/africa/16senegal.html

Tostan’s blog that posts great intimate stories about the programs, and the people and the people making change happen – http://tostan.blogspot.com/