they believe it is good, is not the way
to bring about deep and lasting
change. I believe the way to help
people find their path forward is
through really listening to them,
understanding them and working
alongside them rather than for them.
This approach helps in building
respectful collaboration that creates
a more positive future.
So much of what we do today at
Tostan is based on very subtle things
- insights we had after listening to all
members of the communities,
breakthroughs using knowledge we
gained through thoughtful and
lengthy discussions in classes or
sitting under the neem trees or
around a fire late into the night.
What would be your advice to social
entrepreneurs who are trying to
make a change in the world?
As the Wolof proverb says, "It's
better to find a way out than to stand
and scream at the forest." It is not
always easy to find the way out, but
rushing and aggressiveness will never
help.
I think as a social entrepreneur,
messaging and telling people that
what they are doing is bad, when
If you talk to people who work with
Tostan, they will tell you that we are
constantly adapting our program -
making changes, adjustments,
ongoing shifts as we get new
information from or for our
community members. This careful
listening and asking practice that
leads to program evolution seems to
me to be a hallmark of many of the
wonderful entrepreneurs I meet at
places like the Skoll World Forum.
Many thanks to Molly Melching for
her time – Puaichie Badejo
Find out more about Tostan at www.tostan.org, and on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tostan/21482158469
https://twitter.com/Tostan
https://www.linkedin.com/company/977908?trk=tyah&trkInfo=tarId%3A1
404144511833%2Ctas%3Atostan%2Cidx%3A2-1-6
http://www.youtube.com/user/TostanInternational
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tostan/
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