Cauble, Elizabeth Marie, 1973-2009-11-242009-11-242009-09https://hdl.handle.net/1794/9978xi, 105 p. : map. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number.This thesis explores the empowerment effects of informal education programs run by the highly acclaimed non-governmental organization (NGO) Tostan in Senegal, West Africa. My interviews with 25 women in six rural communities in Senegal reveal that participants in Tostan training programs experience multiple forms and degrees of empowerment. The respondents in this study report sometimes feeling empowered in terms of education, access to resources, individualization and participation. In light of the literature on empowerment, my respondents remain only partially empowered, constrained by existing sociopolitical relations and economic dependency. My research also considers whether there are structural limits to empowerment when an outside NGO comes into a community for a relatively short time to promote change better produced indigenously.en-USTostan (Organization : Senegal)Thesis