2025 Annual Report
Opening letter,
Dear Friends & Partners,
2025 tested our capacities at every level. Development actors operated in a more constrained and uncertain environment. Resources became less predictable, while expectations continued to grow. In some contexts, such as Mali, insecurity and economic instability placed additional strain on partner communities and local systems.
However, as modeled by the communities we serve, every difficulty presents an opportunity to grow, learn, pivot and come together as a community. For Tostan, 2025 reinforced the importance of our mission and programmatic focus, dignity for all, ______Yet, the same year clarified what sustains change and progress when conditions become more difficult.
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Across countries, women, men, and youth worked together to prevent conflict and gender-based violence, manage available resources, and create new economic opportunities. Communities strengthened civil registration systems, supported child vaccination efforts, and took collective action to protect girls.
One thing continues to be clear, change is sustained when communities have the capacity to analyze their context, make informed decisions, and coordinate action. Tostan’s education program contributes to this process by strengthening these capacities in ways that are grounded in local realities.
2025 also challenged assumptions that have long shaped development practice. Needs continue to grow, particularly among young populations, while resources are no longer expanding at the same pace. This accelerating shift places greater emphasis on how change can be sustained over time in environments that remain uncertain.
In response, In 2025, Tostan’s programs focused on strengthening the systems that support community action. This included improving how results are tracked and used through more robust data systems, and exploring how digital tools can complement participatory learning approaches while remaining accessible.
The experiences presented in this report illustrate a reassuring and hopeful paradigm. Communities are shaping change, adapting to shifting conditions, and sustaining progress through collective action. Supporting these efforts with trust and strength partnerships, practical tools, reliable data, and sustained investment in community learning and organization will expand their reach and strengthen their ability to sustain progress amid future shocks.
Sobel Aziz Ngom,
CEO
Kelly Baxter,
Board Chair
10 Years of Training Development Practitioners
Since 2015, Tostan has trained 1,025 development practitioners from 50 countries in its education model through a sharing and mutual learning approach.
These actors include grassroots changemakers, government officials, philanthropists, and religious leaders. They apply Tostan’s education model in their own contexts to advance priorities such as child protection, conflict prevention, gender equality, and local governance, adapting the model while maintaining its core principles.