Edrissa Keita, who runs Tostan Gambia, praised ChildFund for improving their work last year. He talked about this when ChildFund staff visited during their five-day trip across the country. These visitors wanted to see how their money helped local programs. Tostan mainly focuses on teaching communities and helping them grow without needing formal schools.
This group started working in The Gambia in 2007. They teamed up with Unicef and brought their programs to more than 150 villages in the Upper River Region. Since then, Tostan has become one of the best organizations focusing on what communities truly need. Last year, they received cash from both ChildFund and UNFPA to fight harder against female cutting and other bad practices that hurt women and girls.
Keita explained that ChildFund gives them money in two different ways. First, they provide cash that helps Tostan talk on radio shows and social media. Second, they fund efforts to teach people about health problems caused by violence against women. Because of this support, Tostan met with many important people throughout the Upper River Region and Central River Region.
"We talked with village chiefs, local leaders, religious figures, and traditional authorities," Keita said. They reached more than 500 people at many different local meetings to make sure everyone understood their message. Tostan also created 48 separate radio shows that played on GRTs and Bansang community stations. The organization even ran a three-day training program for 40 religious leaders as part of their work.
This group started working in The Gambia in 2007. They teamed up with Unicef and brought their programs to more than 150 villages in the Upper River Region. Since then, Tostan has become one of the best organizations focusing on what communities truly need. Last year, they received cash from both ChildFund and UNFPA to fight harder against female cutting and other bad practices that hurt women and girls.
Keita explained that ChildFund gives them money in two different ways. First, they provide cash that helps Tostan talk on radio shows and social media. Second, they fund efforts to teach people about health problems caused by violence against women. Because of this support, Tostan met with many important people throughout the Upper River Region and Central River Region.
"We talked with village chiefs, local leaders, religious figures, and traditional authorities," Keita said. They reached more than 500 people at many different local meetings to make sure everyone understood their message. Tostan also created 48 separate radio shows that played on GRTs and Bansang community stations. The organization even ran a three-day training program for 40 religious leaders as part of their work.
