Orant Charities US

Orant Charities US is our partner in mission. Both Orant Africa and Orant US aim to make a sustainable impact in Malawi through holistic, local, and data-driven approaches to supporting women and communities. Orant US is a private operating foundation and 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Texas, USA. Our US Team supports us with fundraising, strategy, and technology. 

Orant US Staff

John Tenny

Executive Director

Erin Hearn

Lead Development Officer

Molly Horn

Lead Communications & Marketing Officer

Orant US Board of Directors

Tom Brennan – Board Chair

John Tenny – Executive Director

Michael Tenny – Co-Founder

Seth Morgan – Co-Founder

Scott Beathard – Treasurer 

Lynda Baumgartner – Women’s Empowerment and Education Committee Chair

Dr. John Dallas – Medical Programs Advisor

Caroline Drake – Governance Committee Chair

Bill Robinson – Finance Committee Chair

The Story of Founding Orant

Orant Charities began in 2006 by two friends from Texas, USA who wanted to make a difference in the world. After a year of traveling and researching where they could have the largest impact, they decided on Central Malawi. 

What began as humble medical programs with volunteer doctors soon became more. Orant began drilling water wells, sponsoring students, and getting involved in local life. In 2014, Orant purchased a clinic.

As Orant expanded, so did its concept of charity. With the help of Malawian stakeholders, Orant created Orant Charities Africa, a local Malawian NGO. This shifted Orant from a foreign aid organization into a global-local partnership. Now, Orant Charities Africa runs all programs locally. Orant Charities US offers support from abroad.

Stories From The Field

Every year, March is designated Women’s History Month. In this month, we honour and celebrate women’s contributions to history and contemporary society. In today's blog, we talk with women from our FEM program, and they highlight the roles they play in their families and Kasese community. Read the blog article to learn more!

As we have discussed in some of our past blogs, Malawi Vision 2063 has three key pillars that guide the focus of the Vision. These three pillars are meant to build on each other to create the inclusively wealthy and self-reliant nation that they envision. In this blog, we will look at the third pillar of MW2063: Urbanisation.

In Malawi, there is a famous saying that goes “Chuma chili mu nthaka” meaning “there is money in farming,” or in other words, “wealth lies in farming.” This saying is true for Malawi as farming is the backbone of the economy, with 85% of the population highly dependent on it. However, as much as most Malawians are involved in agriculture, they suffer persistent food shortages. This is because many smallholder farmers depend on rainfed and low-cost subsistence farming to meet their food needs. In this week’s article, we will explore what the life of a subsistence farmer looks like in the rural part of Malawi, in Dowa district near Orant’s headquarters.