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Molly Melching is the founder and executive director of Tostan (meaning "breakthrough" in the Wolof language), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) headquartered in Dakar, Senegal whose mission it is to empower African communities to bring about sustainable development and positive social transformation based on respect of human rights. Tostan and Melching have gained international notice for their work with partner communities to encourage the abandonment of female genital cutting and child/forced marriage in Senegal, and other countries across West and East Africa. Under Tostan's Community Empowerment Program, a community may elect to participate in a three-year, nonformal, education and community organizing training. As of April 2013, 5,423 communities in Senegal have publicly declared their abandonment of FGC after either participating themselves in Tostan's program or through the process of ‘organized diffusion’, spreading what they have learned among neighboring communities. In total, more than 6,400 African communities have abandoned FGC across the countries where Tostan works (as of April 2013). Melching's expertise is in developing educational materials for use at the community level in Africa, and she helped create the Tostan Community Empowerment Program (CEP). Melching's work along with that of Senegalese communities has also contributed to several innovative community development and communication techniques including the model of organized diffusion of information and the use of the public declaration for the abandonment of FGC and child/forced marriage. In 1999, she received the Humanitarian Alumni Award from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and in 2002, the Sargent Shriver Distinguished Award for Humanitarian Service. In 2013, Molly Melching was honoured with a ‘Women of Impact’ award at the 4th Annual Women in the World Summit. ==Early Work in Senegal== While a student at the University of Dakar in 1974, Molly developed an interest in working with children. She wrote an illustrated children’s book, Anniko, which was published by the New African Editions (NEA). In November 1976, she joined the Peace Corps on an individual placement to continue developing and publishing books for Senegalese children tailored to their culture and environment. To accomplish this, Molly created the "Demb ak Tey" (Yesterday and Today) Center, which opened in the African Cultural Center, and served street children in the most populated area of Dakar, the Medina. Using songs, stories, proverbs, theater and other oral African traditions, Molly and her Senegalese team promoted children's literature pertaining to West African culture. Seeing the popularity of traditional African stories and their potential as a vehicle for education, Molly began a weekly radio program in Wolof, a major national language of Senegal. By including messages on health and the environment, the radio program reached thousands of families with relevant information for improving their lives. In 1982, Molly was awarded a grant from the Spencer Foundation to continue her activities, which encouraged her to remain in Senegal. She moved the children's center to the village of Saam Njaay in the region of Thiès. In collaboration with community members, she and her Senegalese team developed a basic, nonformal education program for rural populations based on their traditions and culture. This program, funded by USAID, was so successful that many other NGOs soon adopted it. Molly began collaborating with UNICEF/Senegal in 1988 to improve and expand this nonformal education program to other languages and regions of Senegal. Recognizing women’s crucial role within their own communities as well as the whole of Senegalese society, Molly took note of these women’s distinctive need for literacy training and other kinds of basic education. With UNICEF’s support, the program was extended to thousands of women throughout the country and was also adapted for at-risk, out-of-school adolescents using a basic life skills approach. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Molly Melching」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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