DETERMINED TO DEVELOP
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
One of our key programs is support for youth to attend school and further their education. This has remained one of the most evident needs in the community, and the request we hear most often from families and young people alike. There are several barriers for youth in Malawi to complete their secondary (high school) education. A lack of infrastructure capacity, as well as large distances to schools, are two such barriers. Another large barrier for many students is the cost of attendance. While primary school is free in Malawi, secondary school is not. The added expense of school fees, coupled with associated costs of schooling, often makes it impossible for families to pay, leading to a high incidence of school dropout. The Residential Youth Program has been one of our longest-running and most successful programs. By providing a stable family-oriented home life, a comfortable living environment, three nutritious meals a day, and emotional support, the youth in our care are able to concentrate more fully on their academics. The youth in our care comprise mostly secondary (high school) students and a select number of especially vulnerable primary students. We have seen measurable results from the Residential Youth Program, with live-in youth being routinely at the top of their classes and recognized as leaders among their peers.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
School Tuition Sponsorships
One of Determined to Develop’s key projects is support for youth to attend school and further their education. This is because it is one of the most evident needs in the community, and the request we hear most often from families and young people. While primary school is free in Malawi, secondary school (high school in the US) is not. School fees are often unaffordable, and in the cases where a family is able to pay the fees, they may not be able to afford the associated costs of items such as pencils, notepads, uniform, and exam fees. With the cost of school being a large burden on a family’s income, often parents will only be able to send one child to secondary school (and boys are usually prioritized). In many cases, young Malawians never have the opportunity to experience secondary education.
D2D currently pays the school tuition fees of 245 high school students and has sponsored and put a total of 1,300 students through school since its inception.
Determined to Develop currently supports 16 students at college and university.
Nursery School Support
Determined to Develop has constructed two double classroom blocks at Tilipo and Phulano nursery schools for improved learning and performance. The organization is now in the process of building Luvilimbo nursery school and is assisting with the construction of a kitchen at Tilipo nursery school.
Determined to Develop provides support for local primary schools as well, having established latrines and built a kitchen at Sangilo primary school.
In total, Determined to Develop has supported the nursery education of 2,800 children.
Extended Learning Opportunities for Youth
Technology Center: The D2D technology center is extremely special, providing rural Malawians the chance to learn how to use and operate a computer from within their villages. Housing 17 fully-functioning computers, the center offers lessons to locals of all ages which are facilitated by trained and certified Malawians who hold advanced diplomas in computer science. Over 430 hours of lessons have been given in the Determined to Develop technology center to 203 local primary school students, secondary school students, and community members who now know how to use and operate a computer in rural Malawi.
Animal Husbandry & Agriculture: Livestock breeding of chicken and goats, gardening, and agricultural programming
Environmental Education: Lessons on reforestation, permaculture and sustainable systems
Leadership Initiatives: Twice annually leadership workshops for sponsored youth on empowerment and effectiveness.
Local Education Partnerships
Determined to Develop aggressively supports its local high school, Khwawa Secondary School, having already electrified the whole campus and built two classrooms which are used by 400 students each day. Having also built latrines for girls at the school and contributed books and science equipment, the organization is now in the process of constructing a new kitchen to improve health and safety standards for students and staff members.
D2D supports local nursery, primary and secondary schools in all forms, from providing needed classroom materials such as books, science equipment and desks, to facilitating necessary construction and establishing new classroom blocks, latrines, and kitchens on the different school grounds.
Wasambo Education Foundation
Wasambo Boys High School: Determined to Develop commissioned a new boarding school for boys, which has established a national reach within its first year of inception. The school has given its first class of 75 Malawian youth a chance at a high-quality education led by an international faculty, combining a half Malawian and half Western-based staff. The number of students who attend Wasambo Boys High School will double in the school’s second year of operation and will continue to multiply in the years to come.
Wasambo Girls High School: Determined to Develop plans to construct an all-girls boarding school in the coming years.
Wasambo Technical College: Determined to Develop is currently pursuing the establishment of a technical college to increase technical education in the Northern Region of Malawi, and our catchment area in particular.
To learn more about Wasambo High School, please visit: wasambo.org
Female Mentorship Program
Determined to Develop’s Youth Sponsorship program is complemented by our non-formal education initiatives, which focus on youth issues and the development of soft skills. This includes tutoring for sponsored students and workshops held during school holidays.
Currently our largest non-formal education initiative is the Female Mentorship Program (FMP), which targets young females at local primary and secondary schools, in an attempt to tackle the inequality in access to education between males and females.
In addition to the universal barriers faced by both genders in Malawi; females often face further difficulties accessing education with figures from the World Bank showing that only 27% of Malawian girls enroll in secondary school. Often male children are prioritized to attend school, particularly if not every child in the family can afford to be educated. Even for those girls who do attend secondary school, the dropout rate is higher than that of male students because of additional pressures such as early marriage and pregnancy. The United Nations states that over half of girls in Malawi are married by the age of 18.
D2D’s Female Mentorship Program aims to provide a strong sense of support and guidance to local secondary school girl’s. Combining one-on-one support with small group sessions, the program prioritizes education and positively directs each girl to see her schooling through until the end to secure a brighter future for herself.
Determined to Develop has 65 secondary school girls undergoing its Female Mentorship Program.
Girls Club
Girls Club is a female youth empowerment program directed at primary and secondary school girls. Facilitated by the female staff members of D2D three times a week, Girls Club is an all-female safe-space used to address the challenges brought on by Malawian culture and village life in order to provide the girls with ways to overcome and rise above those challenges. Using separate, large group sessions for the primary school girls and secondary school girls, lessons on self-confidence, self-esteem, leadership, career goals, health and safety, study techniques, positive behavior, public speaking, substance abuse and so on are given. Each lesson works to empower and provide the girls with the right information, encouraging them to make the right choices and work hard to fully complete their education.
More than 135 local girls attend Determined to Develop’s Girls Clubs, with 78 primary school aged girls and 60 secondary school aged girls all taking part as members.
These programs provide a safe and open place for girls to come together and discuss their experiences, ask questions and provide peer-support for one another.
Residential Youth
Without meaning to, D2D started a residential program beginning in 2010, when one orphan needed a place to live. From that small act, the program grew and, over the years, many others have found their home at our Maji Zuwa campus through our residential boy’s program which now hosts more than 65 live-in youth.
It’s our most successful initiative. By providing a stable, family-oriented home life for youth, they can concentrate on school, focus on academics, and have the space to study and push themselves forward. We have seen incredible results and our live-in youth are routinely at the top of their classes at both our local schools and the boarding school to which many are sent. A dozen are currently in college or university programs and are always recognized as leaders out of hundreds of peers.
To be considered for the residential program, a young person has to demonstrate a need and a desire to live in a controlled setting. About one third of our residential boys are complete orphans with neither parent alive, who are referred to us by chiefs and principals of schools. Another third are from households with a single mother who is struggling to provide, and the final third are from our surrounding community and whose families see the value in the structure and rules we have that keep their young person on track.
Where we work
External reviews
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Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of children who have access to education
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
School Tuition Sponsorships
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
D2D currently sponsors 305 students in high school through school fees and has sponsored 1980 students since inception. 31 students are now sponsored in college and we have 45 residential youth.
Number of youth who demonstrate leadership skills (e.g., organizing others, taking initiative, team-building)
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents
Related Program
School Tuition Sponsorships
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
D2D regularly holds youth leadership workshops attended by more than 350 teens.
Number of students who receive scholarship funds and/or tuition assistance
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
School Tuition Sponsorships
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Determined to Develop has sponsored a total of 1300 students since inception.
Number of graduates enrolled in higher learning, university, or technical/vocational training
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
School Tuition Sponsorships
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
D2D currently has 31 students enrolled in higher education.
Number of schools built
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents
Related Program
School Tuition Sponsorships
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Wasambo Boys High School: Determined to Develop commissioned a new boarding school for boys, which has established a national reach within its first year of inception. The school has given its first c
Number of clients participating in support groups
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls
Related Program
Extended Learning Opportunities for Youth
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
D2D’s Female Mentorship Program aims to provide a strong sense of support and guidance to local secondary school girl’s. Combining one-on-one support with small group sessions, the program prioritizes
Number of individuals applying skills learned through the organization's training
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Girls Club is a female youth empowerment program directed at primary and secondary school girls. Facilitated by the female staff members of D2D three times a week, Girls Club is an all-female safe-spa
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
In response to these issues, the School Tuition Sponsorship Program became the first of our formal education initiatives and continues to be one of our core programs. The program covers not only school fees but also associated costs, ensuring students have all the materials needed for educational success. Additionally, we offer Extended Learning Programs to sponsored youth, including computer lessons and annual leadership workshops.
Before being accepted into the School Tuition Sponsorship program, students are interviewed to assess their school performance, work ethic, and level of need. When students are accepted, they agree to act in accordance with the academic and behavioral stipulations of the program, including maintaining expected school scores and not engaging in behavior harmful to their health or educational achievement. It is important that non-residential sponsored youth are supported at home, which is why we require parents and guardians to sign an agreement to enforce their youth’s school attendance. Additionally, we hold yearly meetings with guardians to review students’ performance and ensure guardians are working in partnership with our policies for promoting their youth’s academic achievement.
To be considered for the Residential Youth Program, a young person must demonstrate a need and a desire to live in a controlled setting. Upon entering the program, residential youth commit to and are expected to follow the Code of Conduct, which includes following behavioral expectations, meeting school performance requirements, and performing assigned chores. About one-third of our residential youth are orphans, having lost both parents, who are referred to us by local chiefs or school administrators. Another one-third of our residential youth are from households with a single mother who is struggling to support them. The final one third are from families in the surrounding community who see the value in the structured environment.
Residential youth are overseen by a Residential Youth Manager who lives on-site, monitors academic progress, provides mentorship, and ensures all policies are being followed. Additionally, the house and its residents are overseen by a Residential Youth House Management Committee comprised of the local chief, a health advisor, two parental representatives, a human rights advisor, and the government’s Child Protection Officer for the area. The committee holds regular meetings and is required to approve all incoming and outgoing youth for the program. We also have regular communication with the Malawi Government’s Office of Social Welfare, which conducts regular inspections of the house and send official reports of student progress.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our on-the-ground operation is based in the rural community of Chilumba, in the Karonga district of northern Malawi and works side-by-side with members of the community to address their needs and provide assistance in the overall development of the wider region.
Determined to Develop takes a collaborative approach to our work and we believe those who live in the area are best placed to identify the needs and solutions for the community. We do not feel we should impose what we think is our “solution".
All projects (100%) have a community ownership component, which is demonstrated in two ways. First, communities identify issues and solutions, which become the basis of our work. Second, communities contribute to the implementation or running of each project.
During the concept, planning, and implementation stages of any projects, all work is vetted by community stakeholders, including Village Headmen (Chiefs), local village development committees, women's groups, and civil society leaders. Such collaboration with the community ensures that we are meeting real, rather than perceived needs.
Our approach emphasizes the personal responsibility and accountability of Determined to Develop and all partners and stakeholders involved in our work. We see our job as providing assistance to the most vulnerable and marginalized members of society, to allow them to reach their full potential, become active citizens and have access to the bottom rung of society's ladder so that they may climb higher utilizing their own power.
Our grassroots model for working towards development utilizes local knowledge and ensures that we work in collaboration with traditional leaders and community-based networks, respecting cultural values and traditions.
How we work:
Determined to Develop began its direct fieldwork in 2010 in Sangilo Village. Our efforts have focused on the catchment area of Chilumba, a region in the southern part of the Karonga District of Malawi. Focusing on a small geographical area, and remaining a local NGO, has a number of benefits.
We have worked to build a strong rapport with all stakeholders in the community; from village development committees, traditional authorities (chiefs), civil society leaders, and women's groups. This means we work within local structures. All the projects Determined to Develop works on are identified by the community themselves and are designed to be locally appropriate.
Working on the ground also allows us to have close and ongoing monitoring on all our projects, and we pride ourselves on being able to adapt our projects where necessary and learn through our evaluations.
This approach also ensures that all money donated is used in the most cost-effective way, as we have minimal overhead costs. Our commitment to collaborative working allows us to maximize our impact, and assist in
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our grassroots model for working towards development utilizes local knowledge and ensures that we work in collaboration with traditional leaders and community-based networks, respecting cultural values and traditions.
Determined to Develop began its direct field work in 2010 in Sangilo Village. Our efforts have focused on the catchment area of Chilumba, a region in the southern part of the Karonga District of Malawi. Focusing on a small geographical area, and remaining a local NGO, has a number of benefits.
We have worked to build a strong rapport with all stakeholders in the community; from village development committees, traditional authorities (chiefs), civil society leaders, and women's groups. This means we work within local structures. All the projects D2D works on are identified by the community themselves and are designed to be locally appropriate.
Working on the ground also allows us to have close and ongoing monitoring on all our projects, and we pride ourselves on being able to adapt our projects where necessary and learn through our evaluations.
This approach also ensures that all money donated is used in the most cost-effective way, as we have minimal overhead costs. Our commitment to collaborative working allows us to maximize our impact, and assist in the development of Chilumba in a responsible and positive way.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Determined to Develop currently supports 476 high school students of which 151 are girls to help reduce the financial burden of going to school in Malawi. D2D has sponsored and put through school a total of 881 students since inception.
D2D supported 4 local nursery schools with over 370 children attending each day, through infrastructure, teaching, and administration support.
D2D started a Deaf Club in June 2015 to support the deaf community living in northern Malawi. The club meets every Tuesday and Thursday and focuses on teaching sign language, and supporting both the social interaction and communication development of deaf adults, children and their families.
Determined to Develop feeds 1700 primary school children and 400 nursery school children each day and has served over 512,000 meals in 2017.
D2D started the Women's Revolving Goat Club, a microfinance project where each woman is given two goats to rear. We now have increased our participants to 40 beneficiaries meaning 100 women are supported through the initiative, a number that will grow exponentially by approximately 20 women every 6 months.
D2D also started 4 different Support for Chilumba's Women Groups to help empower women socially and improve their financial security. The project supports an Income Generating Activity (IGA) for each group, poultry farming, traditional breads and baking, fresh produce, and local crafts and sewing. Each woman is receiving training on business skills throughout the project to give them the tools they need to make the IGA effective and sustainable. The women are also receiving specialized training on their particular IGA to refine their existing skills, and classes in literacy and numeracy.
D2D has planted over 10,000 trees in conjunction with the local community since 2009.
In February, D2D distributed 615 mature tree seedlings to Sangilo Primary School. This location was chosen for the opportunity of educating children about reforestation and how to plant and care for trees, and give them an active role in making changes in their community.
D2D established a tree nursery at our base at Maji Zuwa and planted 4836 seeds, lemons, acacia, custard apple, guavas and moringa. These will be distributed in early 2016 (during the rainy season) to women in the community.
Wasambo Boys High School: Determined to Develop commissioned a new boarding school for boys, which has established a national reach within its first year of inception. The school has given its first class of 75 Malawian youth a chance at a high-quality education led by an international faculty, combining a half Malawian and half Western-based staff. The number of students who attend Wasambo Boys High School will double in the school's second year of operation and will continue to multiply in the years to come.
Wasambo Girls High School: Determined to Develop plans to construct an all-girls boarding school
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
DETERMINED TO DEVELOP
Board of directorsas of 01/08/2021
Jason Pierce, Ph.D.
Determined to Develop
Term: 2020 -
Eddy Rojas
Ph.D., M.A., P.E.
Matt Maroon
M.A.
Lawrence Kondowe
M.A.
Roy Burgoon
Treasurer
Kevin Keller
M.B.A., C.P.A.
Lynn Maroon
Carly Hensley
Secretary
Chad Halahan
M.B.A
Clemmie Newston
M.I.D
Daniel Dilley
Lauren Pfleger
Julie McAulay
Laura Limarzi Klin
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data