The following blog was written by Aaron DiMartino, The Tandana Foundation’s Senior Operations Director, who has been an important part of the Tandana community for more than 14 years. He reflects on his longtime friendship with his host family in Panecillo, Ecuador.
Continue reading “20 Years of Friendship: What I’ve learned through shared meals with my host family”
The following blog was written by Chelsea Rothert, who participated with her family in a Trip with Intention that was organized by The Tandana Foundation to Ecuador.
Continue reading “Something for everyone: Traveling to Ecuador for a family reunion with Tandana far exceeded our expectations”
Margarita Fuerez is The Tandana Foundation’s accountant and leader of its new Andean Cultural Journey program in Ecuador. Fuerez was Tandana’s first Ecuadorian scholarship recipient, and she discusses her personal growth following a trip to the U.S. in 2024, alongside other members of the organization’s global team, in the following blog.
Continue reading “20 Years of Friendship: A journey of growth and courage”
The following blog was written by Sarah Backstrand, who served as Golub Capital Nonprofit Board Fellow with The Tandana Foundation during the 2025-26 academic year through the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.
Continue reading “What I learned during my year as a Tandana Board Fellow”
The students and teachers from Stephen T. Badin High School had the most incredible experience with The Tandana Foundation in Ecuador!
Continue reading “Why we wished we could stay forever on our trip to Ecuador”
Claudia Fuerez, founder and owner of Kawsaymi Cocina and longtime partner of The Tandana Foundation, has received a well-deserved recognition from the National Tourism Forum of Ecuador for helping revitalize the country’s tourism industry through dedication, innovation, and leadership.
Continue reading “20 Years of Friendship: Longtime Tandana partner Claudia Fuerez honored by Ecuador tourism forum”
Groups from my high school, The Wellington School in Columbus, Ohio, have been going to Ecuador for many years on cultural exchange trips organized by The Tandana Foundation. Last school year, I made the choice to become a part of that legacy along with five other classmates.
Continue reading “Go for it: Traveling to Ecuador was a life-changing experience”
Students and faculty from The Wellington School in Columbus Ohio recently returned from a trip to Ecuador with The Tandana Foundation. The following blog shares reflections from the trip.
Continue reading “Much more than a study abroad trip: Traveling to Ecuador with Tandana”
The following letter was written by Esteban Alejandro Castañeda Iza, a scholarship recipient of The Tandana Foundation from Ecuador. Each year, Tandana provides over 100 high-school and university students with scholarship support and in exchange the students participate in service projects that benefit their rural communities.
Continue reading “Cultivating success: A scholarship student’s academic and professional journey”
The following blog was written by a student from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, about a week-long volunteer trip to Ecuador organized by The Tandana Foundation. The trip was led by Miami faculty members Juan Carlos Albarrán and Jenny Minier.
Continue reading “My trip to Ecuador: From uncertainty to mutual trust and partnership”
The following letter was written by Mayra Perugachi, a scholarship recipient of The Tandana Foundation from Ecuador. Each year, Tandana provides over 100 high-school and university students with scholarship support. In exchange, the students participate in service projects that benefit their rural communities.
Continue reading “Scholar story: Excellent grades and a grateful heart”
Blind, disconnected, cheated, and lacking opportunities. This is how some women describe feeling before they participated in The Tandana Foundation’s Literacy, Leadership, and Enterprise program in rural Mali. Now, with the skills they have learned through the program, they are empowered to shop and sell their goods confidently in the market, and many are organizing together and forming women’s associations that are proving very successful. In fact, the women’s association of Bine celebrated their accomplishments by having matching outfits made for themselves.
Continue reading “Carrying out community work in perfect harmony”
This year, The Tandana Foundation is supporting 175 students of displaced families to restart their education, and fourteen of their parents to launch income-generating activities, after they arrived in Bandiagara from other parts of Mali that are under ongoing threat from jihadist attacks. Since Tandana’s displaced students program began in 2022, the organization has now supported hundreds of students and their families with school supplies, food, and help acclimating into their new city.
Continue reading “Thankful and proud: A displaced student aces the spelling bee”
Once only the communities’ dreams, the new schools in Kansongo and Dani have created a positive and welcoming environment for hundreds of students since they opened in recent years. Built by local villages in partnership with The Tandana Foundation, the schools are receiving high praise from local leaders, residents, and the children who attend class there each day.
Continue reading “Up close: In Kansongo and Dani, it’s much more than just a school”
Finding employment opportunities is not easy in rural Mali, and many residents have created their own businesses to provide for themselves and their families while also filling the needs of their communities. Some of the women entrepreneurs have joined together in associations and have requested support from The Tandana Foundation to start or expand their businesses. Tandana has now supported 53 women’s associations with training, tools, and a revolving fund to expand the income-generating possibilities of their work.
Continue reading “No worries: The women’s associations’ income-generating activities are thriving”
After thousands of women have successfully learned to read and write, word continues to spread about The Tandana Foundation’s Literacy, Leadership, and Enterprise program – and more villages in rural Mali are requesting literacy centers of their own. The program teaches women to read and write letters and numbers in the region’s native language of Tommoso, allowing them to gain new confidence and the ability to overcome traditional gender barriers.
Continue reading “A new chapter: Women are empowering themselves by learning to read and write”
Fruits not seen nor tasted in a long time. Trees that produce enough to feed families and generate additional income. New perspectives on traditional gender roles. These are just a few of the benefits that dozens of villages in rural Mali are experiencing thanks to the reforestation and assisted natural regeneration efforts by the Olouguelemo Association, in partnership with The Tandana Foundation.
Continue reading “With continued success, the Olouguelemo Association demonstrates the value of reforestation and caring for trees”
Last year, more than 330 women participated in literacy classes in 10 centers in Mali to learn to read and write numbers and letters in their indigenous language of Tommoso. After seeing their peers obtain new abilities, many more women are requesting to participate in the classes, which are supported through The Tandana Foundation’s Literacy, Leadership and Enterprise program in partnership with the local communities.
Continue reading “With a thriving new literacy center, more women are gaining skills and confidence”
My husband and I set off on our first travel experience with The Tandana Foundation on Valentine’s Day in 2026. This was an adventure that we will never forget! We came to serve, but what we received in return was both unexpected and far greater than what we gave. Our hearts were expanded, and we learned and grew in so many ways.
Continue reading “Travel with intention to Ecuador: What you may not know until you go”
It was a very busy January for Verónica Pazmiño, who coordinates The Tandana Foundation’s scholarship program in Ecuador. The program, which provides scholarships to around 100 high school students and dozens of university students each year, supported a number of activities throughout the month, including exchanges that connected students across continents and cultures, a celebration of an inspiring graduate, and a unique form of student support.
Continue reading “Tandana’s Ecuador Scholarship Coordinator shares updates on the program’s start to the year”
Eleven people from the Ohio State University Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program boarded various planes on January 31, 2026, with one shared mission: to experience, learn, and cultivate. After long hours of travel and building anticipation for the week ahead, everyone finally smelled the fresh and damp air of Otavalo, Ecuador. We were greeted with the ornate, charming, and brick-built building of our home for the week, along with our first introductions to the beautiful hospitality of the Ecuadorian people.
Continue reading “Feeling at home on my gardening volunteer trip to Ecuador”
Around the world, many communities are facing environmental challenges on an unprecedented scale. Faced with the forces of a changing climate, it has become the norm in places like Mali to feel disempowered and think of land degradation as an unavoidable consequence. For a long time, this deterioration seemed uncontrollable, leaving families uncertain about the future of their fields.
Continue reading “When erosion is no longer inevitable: The Olouguelemo Environmental Association is offering the solutions”
My name is Boubacar Minta, the cousin of a Tandana Foundation scholarship student, who was one of the first health technician students at the Bouctou school in Bandiagara supported by Tandana.
Continue reading “A song of appreciation: ‘Tandana, where our hearts come together’”
In the community of Yambiro, Ecuador, a group of women started to dream of a better future. Little by little, their ideas materialized until they succeeded in organizing themselves to establish the Yambiro Fish Farming and Irrigation Group (CPRY).
Continue reading “With their community and international volunteers, women’s group in Ecuador realizes their dream”
At Whitman College, the Transnational NGOs workshop brought students together to explore how NGOs work across cultures and borders. The workshop featured three guest speakers who are actively working in the NGO sector to share real-world experiences alongside case studies and discussion. Topics examined ethical partnership, inclusion, and sustainable impact while building a clearer picture of what it means to engage in nonprofit and development work.
Continue reading “Whitman workshop engages students in how to effectively start and operate a global NGO”
For a long time, in many rural areas of Mali, access to healthcare remained limited. Distance, lack of infrastructure and absence of local services shaped families’ daily lives, influencing the way they dealt with illness, pregnancy, and medical emergencies.
Continue reading “When health becomes a shared hope: The results of the Sal Community Health Center”
On the 10th anniversary of The Tandana Foundation, the dream of an exchange program from Ecuador to the United States was born. A group of university students at that time requested the opportunity to participate in a cultural exchange and share their culture.
Continue reading “A dream come true: The Eagle and the Condor exchange”
Even though a month has passed since the panel at Whitman College, I still find myself thinking about the moment I first saw Anna Taft, Madjalia Seynou, and Khai Zar Oo walk into the room. Their calm, unhurried presence left me with a quiet, settled feeling—the kind that comes after listening to people who don’t just talk about justice, but live it: steady, honest, and, in its own way, gently demanding.
Continue reading “A panel that ignited my desire to make a positive impact on communities”
I want to focus this blog on telling one of the most important experiences of my life, something that marked my heart forever: my participation in the first cultural exchange between Ecuadorian students to the United States, which was organized by The Tandana Foundation.
Continue reading “A journey that transformed my life: Cultural exchange in the U.S.”
A year ago, life gave me an unforgettable experience: I was able to visit the United States and visit Miami University. From the first moment, everything was wonderful. I felt so fortunate to be there, in such a prestigious place, hosted with such warmth… It was a dream come true.
This trip to the United States was much more than a simple academic or cultural experience: it was an adventure of the soul. During my stay, I had the opportunity to live moments that deeply sparked my emotions, learning and encounters that took my heart to different corners of that country. I want to share the most significant and emotional moments of this intercultural experience. These are moments that inspired me, made me reflect, and reminded me who I am and where I come from.
Continue reading “What I learned during my trip to the U.S. through the Eagle and Condor program”
In late September, around 800 residents of nearby villages attended the inauguration ceremony of the new elementary school in Kansongo, Mali, which three villages built in partnership with The Tandana Foundation.
Continue reading “Hundreds of local residents celebrate the opening of the new Kansongo school”
My name is Joselyn Perugachi. I am a Kichwa woman from Otavalo and I live in the community of Cachicullá, which is part of the beautiful canton of Otavalo. I study agricultural engineering and I am one of the scholarship recipients of The Tandana Foundation.
Continue reading “My journey through culture: a journey between traditions and discoveries”
The International Alliance for Women – a global charitable foundation dedicated to the economic empowerment and advancement of women all over the globe – has selected Anna Taft, Founding Director of The Tandana Foundation, as a 2025 World of Difference Awardee. The TIAW World of Difference Award recognizes extraordinary women, and men, whose efforts have advanced the economic empowerment of women locally, regionally or globally.
Continue reading “Tandana’s Founding Director receives World of Difference Award for advancing women’s economic empowerment”
Hello, my name is Fredy Xavier Panama, and I am 22 years old. I belong to the community of Padre Chupa, and I live in Quichinche. I study agricultural engineering at the Technical University of Cotopaxi. I am a scholarship recipient of The Tandana Foundation. Thanks to this scholarship, I had the opportunity to experience something I will never forget: traveling to the United States to participate in a cultural exchange that allowed me to learn, share, and grow in many ways.