Mali – The Tandana Foundation Blog

With a thriving new literacy center, more women are gaining skills and confidence

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.

When erosion is no longer inevitable: The Olouguelemo Environmental Association is offering the solutions

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.

A song of appreciation: ‘Tandana, where our hearts come together’

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.

Whitman workshop engages students in how to effectively start and operate a global NGO

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.

When health becomes a shared hope: The results of the Sal Community Health Center

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.

A panel that ignited my desire to make a positive impact on communities

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.

Hundreds of local residents celebrate the opening of the new Kansongo school

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.

Tandana’s Founding Director receives World of Difference Award for advancing women’s economic empowerment

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.

In November, Tandana Foundation to join hands at Cincinnati event for a healthier future in Ecuador and Mali

The Tandana Foundation is inviting new and old friends to join hands in support of realizing the dreams of communities in rural Mali and highland Ecuador for important healthcare projects at a celebratory event in Cincinnati on Nov. 14.

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Through perseverance, a scholarship recipient is supporting her community’s tailoring needs

I’m Aminata Wodiou, from Idieli Douh, in the township of Dourou. My father is a local mason and my mother is a housewife.

Urgent need: Tandana works to build shelters for displaced families in Mali

After already fleeing their homes due to ongoing insecurity in other regions, hundreds of people who have sought refuge in Bandiagara, Mali, are now living without shelter for their families.

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Delivering exemplary results: News from the Sal Health Center

After opening its doors to the first patients four years ago with support from The Tandana Foundation, the health center serving 9,000 residents in the Sal Sector of Mali is fulfilling its purpose.

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Two Bills, one unique story of intercultural friendship

There is a tradition in the Dogon region of Mali by which babies are given names of an ancestor that has passed on or one that is still alive. Sometimes, this is done when a baby is born following the death of a close relative or important friend.

This was the case in a very special story from The Tandana Foundation’s family.

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Tandana strives to build health center in Mali in honor of longtime friend

The Tandana Foundation recently lost a very special member of its family, Susan Napier.

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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.

Community members share the impacts of the USAID cuts on services at the Sal Health Center

After a rollback in U.S. government foreign aid, funding for programs that delivered needed medicines and health care in rural Mali were slashed. That includes in Bandiagara and the surrounding villages where The Tandana Foundation has long-time community partnerships.

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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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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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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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 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.