[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 24037]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           RECOGNIZING TOSTAN

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, during my time in the Senate, I have been 
a vocal advocate of programs that help the nations of Africa improve 
the living conditions of their citizens. Much of this work is done 
through dedicated nongovernmental organizations that work year after 
year on issues of health, literacy, women's empowerment, democracy, 
human rights, and microfinance lending. Today I wish to recognize one 
such group, Tostan, which recently won the 2007 Conrad Hilton 
Humanitarian Prize for its extraordinary contributions to help 
alleviate human suffering in Africa.
  Tostan means ``breakthrough'' in the Wolof language of Senegal. The 
efforts of Tostan have truly been a breakthrough in the West African 
countries in which it works. Tostan was founded by a University of 
Illinois alumna, Molly Melching. When Molly arrived in Senegal in the 
1970s, she began teaching literacy through traditional African stories, 
songs, and theater. Later, in 1991, she founded Tostan, which began 
offering a community empowerment program that helped Africans address 
problems they found in their daily lives, while teaching reading, math, 
health, hygiene, problem solving, and management skills. In 1996, human 
rights and democracy components were added, with particular attention 
toward ending domestic violence and the exploitation of children, 
empowering women, and expanding health and education for all.
  The Hilton award recognizes Tostan for its ability to empower African 
communities, focusing on change from within and from the ground up. Its 
program has helped reduce infant and maternal mortality, improve 
community health care and nutrition, reduce female genital cutting, and 
lower rates of domestic violence in the nine countries where it works. 
Thousands of women and children have learned to read and perform basic 
math and have used these skills to start local cooperatives, build 
stoves, and improve health care. It is not surprising, therefore, that 
Tostan has been recognized by others for its outstanding work, 
including by UNESCO, which called it ``one of the most innovative 
educational programs.''
  Tostan's work deserves to be applauded and should receive our 
continued support. As one of the world's richest countries, we have a 
responsibility to help lift up the large numbers of people in our 
country and around the world who are still living in poverty. Again, I 
congratulate Tostan for its important work.

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