Mother's Day Spotlight: Coumba Diouf, A Dynamic Community Leader

Each Mother's Day, we at Tostan celebrate the power of women in our partner communities by highlighting the story of one remarkable woman who is making an impact in her family and community.  

Coumba Diouf: mother, community advocate,
 and empowered woman

Coumba Diouf is one of the thousands of women who are using what they've learned through Tostan's Community Empowerment Program (CEP) to create lasting change.

A mother of seven, Coumba was married at the age of sixteen. Though forced to leave school early, she was still able to complete her primary education and learn to read and write. Since participating in Tostan's CEP, she has become a dynamic community advocate. She was elected as a member of the Rural Council and is volunteering to support a government project that aims to give employment and skills to young people.

Coumba, who is now also a grandmother, believes that the impact of the CEP is still very evident in her village. Her community created committees focused on topics including health, the environment, and education. Coumba, along with her fellow Tostan participants, encourages people to bring their children to the health center to be weighed, organizes village clean-ups, and helps promote enrollment of children in school.

In the future, Coumba hopes to continue the income-generating activities that she began through the CEP, using the profits to build a poultry house and to expand her activities by employing others.

Mother's Day is May 13th. Join us for our Mother's Day Campaign, an annual event that is a favorite for many of our supporters who choose to honor remarkable women with a gift to Tostan. Donate today and we will send one of our beautiful e-cards to someone special.

Just $120 can provide a woman just like Coumba with a year's worth of empowering education and training. Plus, Tostan's unique social mobilization method, which encourages participants to "adopt" friends and family members as learners, means that every gift will not only empower one woman, but will also transform her family and many members of her community.

Give a unique Mother's Day gift and make a difference in the lives of women everywhere.