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niniane's review
2.0
This book paints Senegalese women as semi-worshipping a white woman who has come to teach them about human rights.
It is not written in an objective way. It portrays the white woman as a hero just for being willing to live in Senegal.
It disrespects the knowledge and wisdom of the Senegalese women. It portrays them as having nothing to teach others.
I used to donate to Tostan but have now stopped because of reading this portrayal.
It is not written in an objective way. It portrays the white woman as a hero just for being willing to live in Senegal.
It disrespects the knowledge and wisdom of the Senegalese women. It portrays them as having nothing to teach others.
I used to donate to Tostan but have now stopped because of reading this portrayal.
jackiesam's review
5.0
Wow! What a wonderful testament to the power of education and the human condition! Highly recommend it!
misspalah's review against another edition
5.0
I have been longing to read about female genital cutting and why this tradition is widely practice in africa for quite certain time. However, i cant find the right book that envisioned what i had in mind. When i found this book in a shop, i was skeptical. A thoughts filled in my head saying the disappointment after reading it will be in present. I was wrong. This is a story about an ordinary woman who started incrementally in changing the dangerous tradition practiced by the villagers in senegal. She started with education of human rights and in the same time, combining the value of unity in the society by dialogues and classes to raise awareness about female genital cutting. It is truly remarkable and inspiring what she accomplished in the villages of Senegal. The tostan program she worked on has now reaching to other country like Somali.
sally1's review against another edition
5.0
This book was fascinating, enlightening, amazing, and encouraging from start to finish.
liralen's review against another edition
3.0
If I hadn't head of Tostan before, I'd probably call this too good to be true. The founder, Molly Melching, moved to Senegal as a young woman and eventually founded an organization that works to educate and empower women. Eventually they added a teaching module on women's health and, with trepidation, included in that module information on female genital cutting. It's a difficult thing to talk about, and in places FGC is an entrenched enough tradition that it's an extremely difficult thing to get people to stop doing -- so Tostan didn't: they understood that communities had to come to that decision on their own. The movement gradually spread, first across Senegal and then to other parts of Africa.
[b:Half the Sky|6260997|Half the Sky Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide|Nicholas D. Kristof|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320486170s/6260997.jpg|6444203] mentions Tostan, and for good reason -- it's been successful in large part because it operates on the assumption that outsiders don't know what is most necessary, and that what is most effective is to work with the people involved to find out.
The book gets only three stars from me because I found the writing rather lacking in oomph. The author gets the story across, but in a relatively, hmm, simplistic way. It makes for a very fast read (too fast, in fact -- it was the only book I brought to work yesterday, and I had the first slow day in weeks -- which meant that I finished the book before my commute home. Woe!) but also one that could use more depth. Definitely, definitely a story worth reading, though.
[b:Half the Sky|6260997|Half the Sky Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide|Nicholas D. Kristof|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320486170s/6260997.jpg|6444203] mentions Tostan, and for good reason -- it's been successful in large part because it operates on the assumption that outsiders don't know what is most necessary, and that what is most effective is to work with the people involved to find out.
The book gets only three stars from me because I found the writing rather lacking in oomph. The author gets the story across, but in a relatively, hmm, simplistic way. It makes for a very fast read (too fast, in fact -- it was the only book I brought to work yesterday, and I had the first slow day in weeks -- which meant that I finished the book before my commute home. Woe!) but also one that could use more depth. Definitely, definitely a story worth reading, though.
kstewart424's review against another edition
5.0
I was quite shocked by how much I enjoyed this book. I usually don’t go for biography or book about Africa, but this one called to me and I read it. I think it is a book everyone should read at least once in their life.
The story follows the life of Molly Melching and how she brought the knowledge of human rights to numerous villages throughout rural Senegal. Molly is originally from the U.S. and moved to Africa in her early twenties. She stayed because of how welcome and at home she felt, something she had never found anywhere else. After studying and working as a translator, she became obsessed with how to get education into the rural areas of Senegal where it was gravely needed to help maintain and encourage the improvement projects that were being put in place by NGOs (Non-Governmental Organization). She had several incarnations of organizations before founding Tostan – primarily setting up a local community center through the local Peace Corps then working with her (then) husband to establish a local education program for the village of Saam Njaay. Between these two organizations, she developed a teaching model that met the needs and cultural traditions of the rural community, allowing them access to basic information such as reading, writing, and hygiene.
When she finally broke out on her own and developed Tostan, she used what she had learned to develop an educational program that brought knowledge to the participants. Not only did the program teach reading and writing, but they were taught in connections with core ideas set up in modules – hygiene, basic health, leadership skills, and project development. After gaining success, she was prompted by receipt of funding to include a module on human rights and women’s health, including the dangers of FGC (female genital cutting) which was a widespread practice in Senegal. This last module was developed and presented with great care to be non-judgement and non-confrontational, simply presenting information that described the rights of women as outlined by the United Nations and gave the women information on their bodies they greatly wanted to know.
This module had an unexpected result. As the women grew in their belief in their rights and themselves, the communities started to change as women demanded their rights. THe most stunning result was the decision by different villages to discontinue FGC, which caused anger and dismay with other villages. This led to the discovery of social norm connectivity and how members of a group will decide together.
As an educator and a woman, I found this book highly informative. Not only did I get an overview of life in Senegal, but I learned more about my rights as a woman and innovative educational practices I hope to someday use in my classroom. I thought it did a wonderful job of not only discussing Molly’s life, but also the different things she and her assistants learned over the years and the amazing stories shared by the brave women and men in Senegal who are attempting to bring an end to FGC in the country, and to spread the knowledge across borders.
I highly recommend this book to everyone, but especially women and educators. It also gives you a glimpse into a life we cannot imagine in the United States and is a great way to learn about a mindset completely foreign to us. It definitely ranks on my “needs to be read” list for someone who will take the time to appreciate what they can learn from it.
https://bookmouseblog.wordpress.com/2015/07/09/however-long-the-night-by-aimee-molloy/
The story follows the life of Molly Melching and how she brought the knowledge of human rights to numerous villages throughout rural Senegal. Molly is originally from the U.S. and moved to Africa in her early twenties. She stayed because of how welcome and at home she felt, something she had never found anywhere else. After studying and working as a translator, she became obsessed with how to get education into the rural areas of Senegal where it was gravely needed to help maintain and encourage the improvement projects that were being put in place by NGOs (Non-Governmental Organization). She had several incarnations of organizations before founding Tostan – primarily setting up a local community center through the local Peace Corps then working with her (then) husband to establish a local education program for the village of Saam Njaay. Between these two organizations, she developed a teaching model that met the needs and cultural traditions of the rural community, allowing them access to basic information such as reading, writing, and hygiene.
When she finally broke out on her own and developed Tostan, she used what she had learned to develop an educational program that brought knowledge to the participants. Not only did the program teach reading and writing, but they were taught in connections with core ideas set up in modules – hygiene, basic health, leadership skills, and project development. After gaining success, she was prompted by receipt of funding to include a module on human rights and women’s health, including the dangers of FGC (female genital cutting) which was a widespread practice in Senegal. This last module was developed and presented with great care to be non-judgement and non-confrontational, simply presenting information that described the rights of women as outlined by the United Nations and gave the women information on their bodies they greatly wanted to know.
This module had an unexpected result. As the women grew in their belief in their rights and themselves, the communities started to change as women demanded their rights. THe most stunning result was the decision by different villages to discontinue FGC, which caused anger and dismay with other villages. This led to the discovery of social norm connectivity and how members of a group will decide together.
As an educator and a woman, I found this book highly informative. Not only did I get an overview of life in Senegal, but I learned more about my rights as a woman and innovative educational practices I hope to someday use in my classroom. I thought it did a wonderful job of not only discussing Molly’s life, but also the different things she and her assistants learned over the years and the amazing stories shared by the brave women and men in Senegal who are attempting to bring an end to FGC in the country, and to spread the knowledge across borders.
I highly recommend this book to everyone, but especially women and educators. It also gives you a glimpse into a life we cannot imagine in the United States and is a great way to learn about a mindset completely foreign to us. It definitely ranks on my “needs to be read” list for someone who will take the time to appreciate what they can learn from it.
https://bookmouseblog.wordpress.com/2015/07/09/however-long-the-night-by-aimee-molloy/
in2reading's review
4.0
A very inspiring story of how to facilitate change from within a group of people.
gmrickel's review against another edition
DNF at 50%. Started reading this in anticipation of a group discussion on the book. Ended up bailing on the event. Themes of White Savior are peppered throughout the book from the very beginning. Some good thoughts on development (that it needs to originate from the folks who actually live in the communities, rather than from outsiders). The way Molly is described as talking about her past relationships seems to fetishize POC. HARD PASS on ever finishing this book.
claudiavolano's review
5.0
For those who have read Half the Sky and/or who are involved in, care about or want to learn more about the issues, problems, solutions and support of women and girls in third world regions, this is a great choice. Molly Melching is one of the amazing women of the world who have a gift, a heart and the smarts for sensitive change. Dining for Women members: Tostan is a great long-time NGO that is doing effective work. This is about Senegal and some of our DFW programs are in Senegal [March 2015, for example]. Would be a great group read.
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