Determined to Develop

Determined to Develop is a non-profit charity registered in the United States as a 501(c)(3), tax deductible organization which works in Malawi, Africa.

We focus on programs supporting education, orphan care, women’s empowerment, health and the environment.  The majority of our effort and funding is spent on education with a focus on those who are orphans and for whom education is the light at the end of an otherwise hopeless tunnel.  Most especially, we emphasize girls education in the continuing pursuit for gender equality in Africa and the world.

All projects, 100%, have a community ownership component.  We are not in a position to impose what we think is a “solution” on people who may or may not want it.  All projects are vetted by traditional leaders (chiefs), local village development committees and village women’s advisory groups before they pass the planning stages.  All projects are required to have a community contribution, which is usually in another form than cash, but for which typically makes up at least 40% of the project.  This includes our support for students who must then “contribute” towards the younger orphans through tutoring, thereby establishing early the responsibility to those whom much is given.

We do not act as a savior, but instead work within the framework of personal responsibility with each recipient being held accountable with results.  This means our partners in development must deliver what they say they will and our children must perform well in school.  We see our job as giving a boost to the most marginalized in society that they might finally reach the bottom rung of the ladder in order to climb to the top under their own power.