Trimble Supports Tostan to Advance Good Governance that Benefits Women and Youth

SUNNYVALE, Calif. and DAKAR, Senegal, March 8, 2021

As part of this extended support, on the recommendation of Trimble Foundation—a donor-advised fund—a grant was made to Tostan for its Strengthening Democracy and Civic Engagements (SDCE) program. Trimble's two-year grant will be applied to one of the most resource-poor areas of Senegal where Tostan is now working to bridge the gap between government officials and the constituents they serve. Tostan's SDCE program is designed to take the effective empowering education to the next level, as participants apply the skills they've learned in the CEP to address issues in their community. It also helps government officials better understand their roles and connect with their constituents around shared priorities.

Better understanding and increased participation in local decision-making are essential to a strong democracy, good governance and achieving well-being for all. Tostan's SDCE program reinforces the roles of each community's governing and representative bodies, with training and support for youth—both girls and boys—through youth councils, as well as engaging Community Management Committees (CMCs), which are composed of a majority of women. 

"Tostan is pleased to have Trimble join us in this important effort, which is at the heart of our mission—empowering communities to create a vision of well-being and then advocating for the resources and representation necessary to realize these plans," said Tostan's CEO, Elena Bonometti. "The SDCE covers the ingredients of success—transparency and accountability of elected officials and participation from all citizens—women, men and children. Women, who make up more than half of the participants, are taking leadership roles and ensuring issues that affect families and youth receive adequate funding through the budget process. We know development is most powerful and sustainable when driven at the community level, building on skills and capacities and visions of communities themselves. We believe our relationship with Trimble can be a wonderful new chapter in the story of communities, especially women, building resilience and leadership for the future."

"Tostan's mission is closely aligned with the Trimble Foundation's focus on female empowerment and education and Trimble's mission of "Transforming the Way the World Works." Our relationship with Tostan has helped connect Trimble in a meaningful way to a project and organization that shares our values and is investing in a better future for women and girls, which in turn, benefits entire communities," said Alicia Jarosh, chair of the Female Education and Empowerment Committee, Trimble Foundation Fund. "It will be exciting to see this next phase of their SDCE program go to scale and also address one of the biggest barriers to sustainable development."

About Tostan

Based in Dakar, Senegal, Tostan focuses on five West African countries (The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, and Senegal). For 30 years, Tostan has partnered directly with resource-poor communities to offer a holistic, human rights-based, empowering educational program that builds local capacity to address complex, sensitive, and intersecting problems at the grassroots. Tostan believes supporting creativity and encouraging solutions formed by people themselves unlocks the greatest resource available to communities everywhere. As a result of a collective, community-led approach to development, community members envision and create pathways out of hardship, building better futures for themselves and their children. For more about Tostan, visit:  www.tostan.org.