Libby and I are off to Senegal to spend 2 weeks with the remarkable and inspiring Molly Melching, founder and director of Tostan (tostan.org). Tostan is an organization that offers a 3-year informal education program to rural villages in Senegal and 7 other West African countries that is deeply routed in human rights and founded on the tenets of respect, love and dignity. The organization celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. I believe this organization and program are THE model for what sustainable social change looks like. It is dramatically impacting quality of life and individual empowerment throughout West Africa currently with the vision to scale this impact globally.
Libby and I have been involved with Tostan for nearly two years, deepening our relationship with Molly and our understanding of and commitment to the program. It is an honor to get to go to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau to see this work up close and to witness the transformational change that is happening in the villages.
I highly recommend the book "However Long the Night" by Aimee Malloy. It is the story of Molly Melching and the birth of Tostan. It is a page turner. Seriously. You will want to keep reading and reading. You will become a believer, too.
Our bags are packed (though I still can't figure out why Libby's duffle bag has so much more extra room in it than mine, and I have a fraction of the clothes she's bringing), alarm set to wake up at 5:00am to head to the airport tomorrow morning, and family dinners cooking when we get the email that our flight from Seattle to Washington DC tomorrow is cancelled due to the forecasted mega snow storm due to hit the East Coast tomorrow evening. Big drag. I know it pales in comparison to what the folks living on the East Coast are going to be dealing with over the weekend.
Not much to do but enjoy dinner with the family and explore our options. We were lucky to find open seats on a Delta flight mid-day on Saturday. We will miss out on 2 full days of our original Senegal itinerary and spend a 7+ hour lay-over in Paris, but we still get to go to Senegal.
So, a bonus day at home tomorrow without last minute trip preparations. Extra time to get our heads and hearts more deeply into the purpose of the trip - to listen, to witness, to question, to participate, to learn, to enjoy. Thank you for reading. Can't wait to share our experience with you.
Stay tuned...
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