In the book Poor Economics, the authors explore the idea of the poverty trap and how it affects people across the world. In this blog, we review Poor Economics and its lessons on how to break the cycle of poverty.
What does mudzi mean?
Orant Charities has named its annual gala mudzi. Mudzi means village. Orant’s mudzi is the global village of people united for our common mission in Malawi.
At Orant, we work together.
Whether we live in rural Malawi or urban USA, we know that our destinies are bound. We share one mudzi, one village, one planet.
We aim to dismantle the structures separating the helper from the helped.
We are all both the helper and the helped. When we dissolve what separates us, we see how much we are in fact the same. We all experience poverty, though perhaps in different ways. We all suffer. We all have dreams. We are all deserving of respect and love.
How does Orant live out our values of respect and community?
Great question! There are three main ways.
1. We value our beneficiaries’ input.
Orant Charities Africa maintains close relationships with local businesses, village savings and loan groups, chiefs, and other stakeholders who are impacted by our programs.
Before launching new programs, we first make sure our community really needs and wants them. To do so, we interview community members. We listen to their feedback. Their participation is integral to our success.
2. We tell stories that honor our participants’ dignity and intelligence.
If our beneficiaries see their stories in 5 years, we want them to feel proud. We never want to exploit someone’s struggle to raise awareness or money. Of course Orant’s community faces struggles. But those struggles don’t define them. Rather, they are defined by their hearts, their courage, their patience, their humor, and their kindness.
3. We collaborate internationally.
The majority of our donors live in the US, but our 100% African staff runs all our programs in Malawi. Our US and African teams meet weekly to discuss goals, developments, and program operations. Everyone brings something unique to the table. Our collaboration is successful because we respect each other. We belong to each other. We share the same mission.
Join the mudzi.
Celebrate with us at the Orant Mudzi Gala Sep 17, 2022 at the Perot Museum of Nature & Science in Dallas, Texas. Learn more and buy your tickets here.
Interested in more ways to get involved from the US? Check out this blog post. No one’s to young to contribute! Learn about Orant’s Young Ambassadors Program here.
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