Orant’s Values Beyond Borders
A Reflection from Orant Charities US Executive Director
In May 2021, I returned to Malawi for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The moment the Orant Charities US team and I arrived, we were greeted by our Malawian counterparts and reminded that we were returning to our second home.
The local Malawian NGO Orant Charities Africa began in 2014. It took the reins of operation from US-based operating foundation Orant Charities US. This organic transition ensured that Orant’s ideas were Malawian, programming was intentional, and money was going to those most in need. After a few years of hard work, we realized that the next step after saving lives was to make peoples’ lives more stable by investing in our communities.
As Orant grows and begins to take on more responsibilities in our community, we solidify our core values. Orant’s values are: community, respect, collaboration, service, and sustainability. When combined, our values are more powerful than they are individually:
We are part of a community, we respect each other and our community, we collaborate with others to serve our community sustainably.
It was exciting for me to see these values in play during my visit. One of our objectives during our recent visit was to make 360 degree videos of our programs for our upcoming Virtual Event. With these videos, we will be able to bring our international community of friends and donors into the middle of the action in Malawi. When filming, we collaborated closely with our community partners and program managers to gather accurate depictions of the programs. Respect for our beneficiaries and their life stories was also paramount. Before we filmed, we made sure our program beneficiaries felt at ease. In the long term, we hope that these videos will tell the story of our community in Malawi. Perhaps they will even inspire the next generation of changemakers to serve their own communities and those abroad.
The collaboration of our US and Malawi teams is the fulfillment of our values and our mission. Our collaboration brings inspiration and strength from our Malawian community to the international community that it inspires. The international community brings the technology and funds to build a more sustainable future for Malawi. I am honored to be a part of this international collaboration.
