Today, we are excited to kick off our celebration of International Women's Day! We are honoring the incredible achievements of women worldwide, acknowledging the obstacles they face, and advocating for a more just and equitable society. This year's theme, "For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment," calls for collective action to unlock equal rights, power, and opportunities for all, ensuring a future where no one is left behind. At Orant, we're committed to empowering rural women in our community. Read our latest blog article to discover the ways we're working towards a more equitable future for all.
Play for a Purpose - Education Equality
Author: Praises Padambo, Molly Horn-Smith, & Erin Hearn
The Struggle for Education in Malawi
In Malawi, where secondary education is not free, and nearly three quarters of the population lives in extreme poverty (World Bank, 2025), sending children to high school is an impossible dream for so many families. Instead, after primary school, children can be found collecting water, and farming fields for food and income to help support their family. Unfortunately, this burden disproportionately impacts young girls, due expectations such as marriage, caring for children, and managing households.
Orant Charities recognizes access to secondary education can help break the cycle of extreme poverty and equip children with the resources to substantially improve their futures, and the futures of their community. Through our Education Program, Orant endeavors to serve as a beacon of hope. By providing scholarships for school fees, uniforms, and supplies, we remove barriers that might otherwise prevent kids from accessing education.
Orant’s Education Program offers a brighter future
Time and time again, Orant Charities is fortunate to witness firsthand the significant difference access to education can make in the lives of the deserving students we support. Through sponsorships provided by our Education Program, hundreds of children, who could not otherwise pursue their secondary studies, have been given the chance to continue attending school.
One such student, Alick Nathan, worked hard and excelled academically in primary school. Nonetheless, Alick’s family could not afford the school fees to send him to secondary school. Alick’s impoverished background threatened to steal an otherwise promising future. But, with support for tuition from Orant, Alick finished secondary school, and went on to earn an honors bachelor’s degree in Engineering. His story is an important reminder that, without support, exceptional potential like Alick’s would be lost forever.
Similarly, Ellen Kawerama, a student in her third year of secondary school at Natola Day Secondary School, was on the verge of abandoning her educational aspirations due to financial constraints. Ellen’s mom, a single mother, farms to make ends meet, and despite her best efforts could not afford to pay her daughter’s school fees. Without money for tuition, Ellen was forced to leave school for a month.
“As I stayed home, I felt my future slipping away. My dreams of becoming a soldier seemed to be dying, leaving me feeling hopeless,” says Ellen.
As the youngest child in her family, Ellen had seen her older siblings abandon their education, and dropout of school, becoming subsistence farmers, as a means of feeding themselves. But Ellen wanted desperately to break this cycle, and become a source of hope and support for her family.
Through the intervention of Orant’s Education Program, made possible by the generous support of GeoShack, Ellen will stay in school, and continue to chase her dreams of a brighter future.
By investing in scholarships, we invest in the future of Malawi. We empower students to become leaders, innovators, and change-makers, equipped to tackle the many challenges facing their communities and Malawi at large.
Your impact can change lives
By attending Orant’s spring Bingo fundraiser, Play for a Purpose, Saturday, March 15th, 2025, at Denton Woman’s Club in Denton, Texas, you can have a direct impact on the lives of students like Alick and Ellen. Tickets are on sale now. Make a pledge to sponsor a student monthly and your admission to Bingo is free! Come out to play, support education, and for the chance to win great prizes, including Rangers tickets, a Day in Denton package, a Wine Tasting, and more. Visit the link to learn more:
We are especially thankful for our presenting sponsor, GeoShack, and their long-standing support of our Education program. For the past four years, GeoShack has sponsored 30 students, giving these children access to education and the chance if a brighter future. In addition to their generous support, GeoShack’s employees invest their time to write letters to their students, cheering them on and encouraging their diligent effort and hard work. Thank you GeoShack for your ongoing commitment to our mission and the students we serve in Malawi.
If you cannot attend Bingo, but would like to learn more about sponsoring a student, or our Education program, please contact Erin Hearn at [email protected].
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The Orant Journal
It's been a while since we last shared an update on our Mobile Outreach clinic, but rest assured that our team has been working tirelessly to deliver healthcare services to hard-to-reach populations. Despite the challenges posed by the rainy season, our clinic remains in full swing, with our team venturing out every day to bring medical care to those who need it most. In today's blog, we highlight the significance of our Mobile Outreach clinic during this rainy season, and its impact on the communities we serve.
It's been a while since we last shared an update on our Mobile Outreach clinic, but rest assured that our team has been working tirelessly to deliver healthcare services to hard-to-reach populations. Despite the challenges posed by the rainy season, our clinic remains in full swing, with our team venturing out every day to bring medical care to those who need it most. In today's blog, we highlight the significance of our Mobile Outreach clinic during this rainy season, and its impact on the communities we serve.
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