Causes: Children & Youth, Economic Development, Education, Educational Services, Youth Development Programs

Mission: To empower, through education, the people of Malawi to become agents of development for their families, communities, country, and world.

Results: The positive impact and accomplishments of Determined to Develop are too numerous to list in this space but here are a few in the four areas that we focus: EDUCATION & YOUTH SUPPORT:Determined to Develop has built new double classrooms blocks at Khwawa and Sangilo schools Determined to Develop has sponsored & put through school 466 students since inceptionDetermined to Develop supports 4 nursery schools with over 370 children attending each dayConstruction of a home for orphan boys, where 43 children have all their basic needs covered and live within a family environment WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT: Determined to Develop directly supports over 100 widows in a microcredit projects that uses livestock as an income generatorDetermined to Develop supports women's adult literacy with more than 64 women attending Adult Literacy Classes each weekDetermined to Develop supports four women's business groups with a total of more than 50 members who are mostly the sole providers of their familiesHEALTH & NUTRITION: Determined to Develop currently feeds 1572 elementary school children and 372 nursery school children each dayDetermined to Develop has campaigned and established 3 sanitary kitchens for feeding programs and compost toilets at schoolConstruction of a water system for Sangilo Village, serving a once waterless hospital with a catchment area population of 30,000 and direct access for 2,000 people in the village ENVIRONMENT: Determined to Develop runs a reforestation program each year with the Department of Forestry and has planted over 10,000 trees in conjunction with members of the villageAll of our 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. According to their latest audit, Determined to Develop only has 3% overhead costs, with 97% of donations going directly towards development projects - this gives our supporters great value for their donation.

Target demographics: educate children, empower women and the environment

Direct beneficiaries per year: Determined to Develop feeds 1572 elementary school children and 372 nursery school children each day. We have sponsored and put through school 466 students since inception.

Geographic areas served: Malawi, Africa

Programs: We focus on programs supporting education & youth support, 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.