Join us for the 2021 Orant Charities Africa Virtual Experience, connecting rural Malawi to the world. This August 9th-14th, people from across the globe will step into Orant’s custom 3D world to experience 360 immersive videos on phones, tablets, computers, or VR headsets. Walk through rural Malawi. Speak with NGO program staff. Learn about a life that might look different than your own.
How do we extend empathy from one side of the world to the other? How do we communicate not only need, but also culture? For many people in high-income countries, like the United States, Malawi is foreign. Its people are strangers and its struggle is distant. With a virtual reality event, Orant aims to create a portal that connects one of the poorest countries in the world with one of the richest; that expands limited notions of community into a more global framework. With groundbreaking technologies, we can share stories from our community.
Known as the Warm Heart of Africa, Malawi is peaceful and spiritual. However, it’s also one of the poorest countries in the world. 50% of the population lives below the poverty line. Many families in Malawi, especially those living in rural areas, lack access to nutrition, clean water, and healthcare. Without basic necessities met, it’s difficult, if not impossible, for families to rise out of poverty.
Orant envisions a Malawi in which all people, including women, have independent opportunities to learn, grow, and flourish in stable communities that meet their basic human needs. Our investment in Central Malawi began 13 years ago. We make a sustainable impact through a holistic approach, local, and data-driven approach. We tackle not one problem but many, as all are interconnected. Our programs include Healthcare, Education, Water & Sanitation, and Agriculture & Business. We serve over 36,000 people.
Orant’s Programs
Water & Sanitation: Orant’s team drills and repairs boreholes, then trains communities on preventative maintenance. In the past four years, Orant drilled 32 new boreholes. In 2020 alone, Orant facilitated over 80 borehole repairs. Additionally, Orant delivers sanitation education and builds latrines and menstrual hygiene facilities. In each of these activities, we involve community members as active players.
Education: Education empowers communities with the knowledge needed to innovate, problem-solve, and grow. Unfortunately, in Malawi, there is no free education beyond 8th grade. Tuition is a barrier that locks many students in poverty. So, Orant funds the education of 100 students. 95% of Orant’s sponsored students are girls. In 2020, 60% of graduated sponsored students were accepted into university.
Healthcare: Orant’s Healthcare Programs provide some of the only reliable access to quality medicine for miles around. Orant runs two clinics: a static health clinic and a mobile outreach clinic. The static clinic has an Outpatient Department, a 24 Hour Children’s Ward, and a Maternity Ward. The clinic offers HIV/AIDS testing and counseling, a program that has won an award of excellence from the Malawian Ministry of Health. Weekly, the clinic offers cervical cancer screening, monthly ophthalmology clinics, routine vaccinations, and malnutrition monitoring and treatment. Meanwhile, the mobile clinic travels to remote hard-to-reach villages.
Agriculture & Business: Orant’s Agriculture & Business Programs aim to make stable incomes and food security possible. Programs support farmers and women with skill development and collaboration. Orant is specifically proud of the Financially Empowering Microloans for Women Program. Through this program, women can apply for a no-interest loan to support their business ventures. Thus far, 100% of loans have been paid back in full.