She Lost Her Mom, Then Became One to Many

Dorothy Daka is a remarkable woman and our Everyday Shero. At just 27, she has not only carved out a promising career as the head of sales for a tour operator in Blantyre, Malawi, but she has also embraced a calling much deeper: motherhood in its most selfless form. 

Affectionately known as the “Community Mom,” Dorothy nurtures, educates, and cares for 12 young girls who have been under her full-time care for the past 12 years. 

“I wanted to give unconditional love to children who needed it the most, just like my mother gave me,” Dorothy told The Weight She Carries.

Inspired by the warmth of her upbringing and the strength of her late mother, she chose to replicate that same nurturing environment for children who otherwise might have been forgotten by society. Her approach is deeply personal—prioritizing quality over numbers, and creating a home, not an institution.

Continue reading to get to know Dorothy and be inspired by her huge heart!

So, who is Dorothy Daka?

I am the second-born in a family of 4 (3 girls and 1 boy). I have a single dad and lost my mom in 2017, so it’s basically just the 5 of us. I absolutely love dogs! Unfortunately, my fur baby was murdered last year, and I am still working on healing. Some may say I am crazy, but I have contemplated therapy for it several times because he was my emotional support system. I miss him! I also love to read business books, not really a fiction type of reader. I want to constantly learn how to improve myself and make money, hence the choice of books

What was your upbringing like?

I grew up in a very loving, kind, and fun home. My mom was the Trevor Noah, Bill Gates, and John Cena of the family😅. She was effortlessly funny, just like Trevor, and by Bill Gates, I mean she was constantly implementing businesses, working towards making more income, and never giving up. She wanted to be the best version of herself and, in the process, set an excellent example for her children. No one would dare come close to us because she would automatically switch to being a John Cena. She was quite a character! I miss her so much.

We were raised in a Christian home; church every Sunday or risk being told, “No food for a pagan😅.” Typical of African mothers. She mostly encouraged good behavior, and so all 4 of us turned out the best! My dad, on the other hand, is the softie of the family. He never hit my mom or any of us. He was constantly showering praises on all of us and making sure we never lacked. I pretty much had the best upbringing, no wonder I turned out to be a kind woman!

You describe yourself on your Facebook page as a community mom. Can you tell us about that?

The answer is simple! I am only 27, but I usually find myself listening to older people’s problems and offering help wherever I can. 

My community doesn’t look at me as a young girl; they view me as their mother and source of hope. 

The name originally came about when I had a feeding program, catering meals to over 200 children in the community every weekend in 2023. That was before we moved to a new location. Adults would join too on weekends, and so everyone started calling me community mom, and I embraced it. They believed I fed, clothed, and educated many in the community.

How did your foundation come to be?

I usually say my foundation is based on love. Most people start foundations because they were either abandoned street kids or abused as little girls or boys, so when they grow up, they are compelled to launch a foundation to help kids who are like them when they were young. It is a great move and highly commendable. Mine, however, is a different story. 

As I mentioned earlier, I grew up in a loving, fun, and kind home. I felt I needed to show love to other children as my parents loved me growing up. I wanted to give unconditional love to children who needed it the most, just like my mother gave me. I wanted to give someone a chance at a better education, like my parents gave me. 

In Malawi, girls, especially those in rural areas, struggle to finish even lower secondary school due to factors such as the financial instability of guardians, early marriages/pregnancies, or simply a lack of motivation. This is not only happening in rural areas, but it also takes place in urban areas. 

I wanted to be a driver for change and invest my personal resources into educating 12 young girls who have lived full-time with me for two years now. 

To others, this may seem like a small number, but I am sure you have seen my girls on Facebook. They are beautiful, well-dressed, and have great performance at school. They are happy and very healthy. That is because, for me, it is always “Quality of Quantity” and by that I mean, I want the resources that I have to be evenly distributed among them. I need to be able to take all of them on vacation, buy all of them nice clothes, and easily monitor school performance. 

My foundation is a family set up, therefore, I am against the word “orphanage “ because I do not operate as an orphanage, but rather a loving home where my 12 daughters are loved, cared for, and nurtured. 

My foundation also helps other kids and people in the community with school supplies such as uniforms, shoes, crocs, notebooks, etc. But those who stay with me full-time are the ones I post on my Facebook page. People have even nicknamed us “The 12 disciples and their leader.” 

Where do you hope to see your foundation in the next 5 years?

First thing, I need to see all my girls completely transformed into the best versions of themselves, and hopefully see some in college. That would make me so proud! I would absolutely love it if, in 5 years, we end up owning our own permanent place to live and operate from. I would love to see our foundation reach the most vulnerable young girls in the most remote areas. I hope to see our foundation help young women and the youth gain some life skills to help them with their independence journey. I hope to have more funds to implement more projects, as without enough funds, it might be difficult to achieve most of our dreams, but hopefully, we will get there! It’s just a matter of time.

What are some of the challenges you experience with your foundation?

I have to juggle between being a full-time mom and my work. I am my own team, meaning it’s only me doing all the foundation work, being a mom, and also going to work. Some would ask, “Why not get volunteers?” I would have loved that to be the case, but as I mentioned somewhere above, it would be easy if we had our own permanent place, which takes me to challenge two. 

We currently rent and not own, so we always risk being served with a notice to vacate the house. Not because we don’t pay rentals, we absolutely do, and many months in advance. But landlords will always be landlords. And if it’s not your place, there is nothing you can do. 

Challenge three is finances. 

Most projects fall behind because there aren’t enough funds to support everything. We are glad we met a British couple who support us in many other ways. We would one day love to have enough to buy land, build, and reach out to thousands.

What are some of the highlights you can share in the work that you do?

The sense of fulfillment that comes with it. I usually sit and reflect on how far I have come with the girls and instantly feel I am doing something positive in the community. The kids I look after were mostly school dropouts, but when I took them in and gave them a chance at a good and quality education, they now come home with amazing grades. 

I feel I am helping my country educate more young girls. The ability to have the entire community root for you is something I don’t take for granted. People in local communities are not the easiest to work with as resistance is high due to a lack of exposure, education, etc., but my community makes it easy for me to relate to them. It feels rewarding. 

Being able to offer help to someone in need is the biggest highlight. 

Nothing pains a normal person (full of humanity) like failing to lend a helping hand when they see someone suffering, so to be able to be someone’s source of hope is something I always enjoy reflecting on!