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Engineering that matters: Helping communities achieve their dreams

Growing up, I always wanted to be in a place that nurtured and cultivated change, whether I was aware of it or not. As a child, I often volunteered around my community from mundane tasks at the library to helping out at the food shelter. I tried to give my time to all things. As my youth subsided and college rolled around, I found it challenging to participate in service activities and struggled to find the meaning and purpose behind the degree I was pursuing. When I was introduced to the ETHOS program offered by my school, I took a leap of faith and opened myself up to an opportunity that would expand my worldview.

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Extra courses help displaced students catch-up and earn top marks

Due to ongoing insecurity in other parts of the country, thousands of people, including many children, have fled to Bandiagara, Mali. To support these families, The Tandana Foundation launched a program for displaced students that provides school supplies, food aid, and other resources to help them transition to their new location.

The literacy program is teaching much more than reading and writing in Mali

The literacy and numeracy program supported by The Tandana Foundation has grown to include students in 79 villages around Bandiagara. The program teaches women to read and write words in Tommoso and recognize numbers and do calculations. These skills boost their confidence, independence, and success in economic activities.

Lessons in translation from a Remote ESL Intern

As I dialed the number to call my student Mariuxi for the first time, I was filled with anxiety. Anxiety about whether I would be able to sufficiently communicate or explain a whole language in an entirely different one. And then Mariuxi answered the phone. During that first call, though there were starts and stops – times of confusion and times of certainty – we were able to convey the essentials. Spanish and English flowed in a complex dance of syllables, enunciations, and pauses. Over time, we would grow together.

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Ready to achieve her dreams thanks to a new hearing aid

In October 2024, in one of the mobile medical clinics supported by The Tandana Foundation, we visited the community of Moraspungo in the parish of Quichinche. There I had the opportunity to see Nayry Flores Cachimuel again. Now 14 years old, she was born without the ear canal in her left ear. Her mother noticed she couldn’t hear when she was 4 years old. At the age of 8, she was referred to the San Vicente de Ibarra Hospital. The hospital did not have a solution to her problem, so they referred her to the Baca Ortiz Hospital in Quito, which specializes in children. Unfortunately, the specialists explained to her family that she was born without an auditory canal and that it was not possible to do any surgery to help her, so she could only use a hearing aid to help her hear. They provided her with one, but it did not last long.

Small NGOs need support following USAID cuts in Mali, says Tandana’s Founding Director

In an op-ed published by Context, Anna Taft, Founding Director of The Tandana Foundation, argues the upheaval caused by the U.S. funding cuts in rural Mali shows the urgency of the work of privately funded non-governmental organizations.

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Workshop introduces Whitman College students to the Andean worldview and Kichwa Otavalo culture

Last fall, members of The Tandana Foundation led a workshop exploring the Andean worldview and philosophy as well as the Kichwa Otavalo culture and language at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.

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Extraordinary encounters in Ecuador

I’ve always been a plant person. Growing up, my best friend was a silver maple. I’d spend lazy afternoons laying under an old hackberry, making dandelion crowns and searching for shapes in the clouds above. And on laundry day, I always received a talking-to for having an assortment of acorns, hickory nut husks, and other tree bits in my pockets. (If I’m being honest, this continues to be an ongoing issue into my forties…some things never change.) If you ask me what my favorite tree species is, it will likely depend on the day. I have too many favorites! However, there is one species that is always at the top of the list: Asimina triloba.

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The circle was us

Mama Cotacachi and Tayta Imbabura, affectionately referred to as “mother and father mountains,” are sacred Ecuadorian symbols of love and protection. On the land between their peaks, we came together to plant food and flowers. Like the seeds and sprouts, we too began to grow.

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My path to becoming Tandana’s new Board of Trustees President

My journey with The Tandana Foundation began in 2014 when I led students on a 20-day cross-cultural experience in Ecuador as Director of the REACH Program, a youth development nonprofit providing college-track lifeskills for underserved, first-generation youth. It is a daunting task to combine youth development and international programming, to create an experience that is authentic, impactful, and safe.

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A letter of thanks for scholarship support in Mali

Fatoumata Ambapil, who received support through The Tandana Foundation’s Ash B. Varma Scholarship Program in Mali, wrote a letter to share her academic success and express her gratitude for the financial assistance.

Tandana organizes classes to help students from displaced families catch up

As more families arrive in Bandiagara, Mali, to escape insecurity in other parts of the country, The Tandana Foundation continues to expand its support of school-aged children and their parents through its displaced students program.

My inspiring and impactful encounter with Tandana

I met The Tandana Foundation team members Housseyni Pamateck (Mali Program Manager), Moussa Tembiné (Mali Country Director), and Anna Taft (Founding Director) at a Tandana gala in Columbus, Ohio, as an offshoot of the graduate student work I do on campus at Ohio University. I thought it would be a relatively tame and routine night of event photography. They surprised me by leading the entire room in a few traditional dance moves and dozens of guests in a conga line. It was my first glimpse of a team greater than the sum of its parts.

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From Ecuador to Ohio: Learning about another indigenous people

My visit to the United States was certainly a tremendous experience.

Fleeing violence, finding confidence and hope

The following story is from Ambajugo Kassogue, a grandfather whose family receives support through The Tandana Foundation’s displaced students’ program.

Sharing the impact of Tandana’s displaced students program

The program initiated by The Tandana Foundation for displaced families in Bandiagara is a very welcome initiative, says Hamidou Yalcouyé, coordinator of the displaced students program.

A new tailor becomes an entrepreneur, bringing much-needed services to his village

Through the Dr. Ash B. Varma M.D. Scholarship Program, The Tandana Foundation has supported 41 students in rural Mali to attend professional school. The program is a win-win: the scholarship recipients are able to pursue their educational goals while their communities benefit from the skills they gain.

Stitched together: The making of a special Tandana present

In November at The Tandana Foundation’s Legacy of Hope Celebration, party goers gave many generous gifts to honor the nearly two decades of service and dedication of Hope Taft to the organization and in recognition of her 80th birthday.

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Tandana’s Founding Director shares lessons learned in new book

The Tandana Foundation’s mission is to support the achievement of community goals and address global inequalities through caring intercultural relationships that embody mutual respect and responsibility.

But what does Tandana – the global nonprofit I launched 18 years ago – really do? Or, perhaps more importantly, how does the organization do what it does?

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Tandana book events showcase indigenous culture and language

In November, members of The Tandana Foundation engaged audiences at several multilingual book readings and conversations around Ohio. The events were centered around two storybooks based on indigenous folklore – Juanita, the Colorful Butterfly and The Hyena, the Hare and the Baobab – that Tandana recently helped to publish and are now available for purchase.

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The latest from Tandana scholarship recipients in Mali

The Tandana Foundation has supported dozens of aspiring health professionals and tailors in Mali to attend professional school through the Dr. Ash B. Varma M.D. Scholarship Program. The recipients have gone on to obtain degrees and certifications in fields most-needed in their rural communities.

Tandana makes a world of difference with a novel approach

The following story was written by University of Dayton students who attended the roundtable event featuring members of Tandana.

As a nonprofit, The Tandana Foundation isn’t putting all of its successes on structures built or money raised. Collaboration and relationships are what powers the organization, and that approach has paid off in Ecuador and Mali.

Hundreds of Miami University students engage with Tandana during campus events

On Nov. 13, more than 300 students of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, filled the large Heritage Room in the Shriver Center. These were students enrolled in classes offered by the department of Global and Intercultural Studies and they were gathered to attend a talk titled “Transforming Gender Norms: Opening Small Spaces for Big Change in Rural Mali and Ecuador”. But what followed was much more than a regular talk, it was a multi-perspectival panorama shedding light on the deep-rooted challenges faced by grassroots workers of The Tandana Foundation, and more importantly an inspiring account of the engaged methods, ethical negotiations, and big wins the foundation strives to accomplish everyday through small spaces of change.

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Discovering the heart and spirit of Tandana

Sometimes, the most life-changing opportunities come when you least expect them.

My most recent collaboration with The Tandana Foundation happened entirely by chance. In mid-October, Anna Taft, the Founding Director, reached out to me with an email asking if I might be available to work with them. Her trust and the opportunity she extended set in motion an experience that would touch my soul in profound and unexpected ways. My recent opportunity to work with The Tandana Foundation was one of those moments.

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Meet Omar Flores, Tandana’s Program Coordinator in Ecuador

My name is Omar Flores. I am originally from Nicaragua, although I consider myself a global citizen. My professional life has taken me to work in more than five countries and I have been able to work with people from all over the world on sustainable development projects. Travelling and working in Latin America, I found The Tandana Foundation in Ecuador and I have been part of their team, working as Program Coordinator since 2024.

Meet Hamidou Yalcouyé, coordinator of the displaced students program

Hamidou Yalcouyé, from the village of Amala, started out as a trainee and is now the coordinator of The Tandana Foundation’s displaced students program, a program set up to support the integration and success of vulnerable students in the educational system.

A scholarship student learns what it means to be a teacher

The following blog shares a letter written by Ivan Cachimuel, who received a scholarship from The Tandana Foundation to attend university. Read on to hear what Ivan studied last year, learned through his internship as a teacher, and why he’s thankful for the academic support from Tandana.

A message of hope from Hope: ‘Start your own tidal wave’

At The Tandana Foundation’s recent Legacy of Hope Celebration, Hope Taft, President Emerita of the Board of Trustees, shared an unforgettable speech about the power and great good that can come from having hope and serving others.

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Tandana’s family and friends celebrate the Legacy of Hope

On Nov. 8, around 450 people from all over the world attended The Tandana Foundation’s Legacy of Hope Celebration to honor the nearly two decades of service of Hope Taft to the organization and to mark her 80th birthday.

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Spreading awareness of the importance of sustainable forest management in Mali

Now 36 villages strong, the Olouguelemo Association continues to expand the reach of its environmental protection and restoration work throughout the Wadouba Township of Mali. They strive to protect the trees in their area, promote the assisted regeneration of trees in the fields, prevent erosion, and reforest, all practices which help both the environment and crop yields.

A few words of gratitude for support of community health initiatives

The Tandana Foundation partners with villages around the Bandiagara District of Mali on a number of health and wellbeing projects based on the desires of the communities. In recent years, Tandana has supported the construction of a new health center in Sal, provided scholarships for students to receive technical training as nurses and pharmacists, helped start a first aid station in an elementary school, and more recently began offering menstrual kits and training to women.

Hear from two women about their new abilities and enterprise activities in Mali

After starting with literacy, The Tandana Foundation has steadily expanded its capacity-building programming for women in rural Mali. Now, Tandana partners with villages across the Bandiagara District of Mali to empower women to read, write, calculate, work together in associations, and generate income.

Leaving a Legacy of Hope: The gift of a new water system in Natividad

Water is essential to life, but communities in many places of the world still long for clean, safe water. One of those communities is Natividad, Ecuador.

Leaving a Legacy of Hope: The gift of a new school in Kansongo

For a long time, the residents of Kansongo, Mali have dreamed of having a school for their children. On paper, the Malian government created a school for them, but without providing financial resources for the infrastructure. So, no school could be constructed.

From Friends to Ambassadors: Introducing a new opportunity to engage with and support Tandana

For those looking for more opportunities to engage with and support the organization, The Tandana Foundation is launching a new Ambassador Program to provide a way to do just that.