SDS’s mission is to provide enabling services to organisations or individuals to unlock potential to impact the lives of the rural poor and disadvantaged.

SDS believes in cultivating and ensuring a culture that embraces a striving for excellence, expertise and reaching out to people. It uses the following values as a base on which the organization is built. A value is an inherent universal need, important to life and living, and which people strive to meet. SDS espouses and attempts to uphold the values of: 1. Equity-Justness, fairness, and equality of rights and opportunities. Equity demands affirmative action towards the marginalized, disadvantaged and alienated. Such affirmative action will be reflected in SDS’s vision, mission, norms and policies. Integrity- Alignment in thought, word and action. It is also freedom from corruptive influence or motive. The staff of SDS will value commitments, not misappropriate, or knowingly misrepresent facts, and will maintain transparent and accountable systems and procedures. 2. Excellence- Being extremely good at something. 3. Trust- The expectation of the opportunity to function and to become, in a world that provides support and freedom. Firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something.