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Tumaini (‘hope’ in Swahili) Festival is a unique refugee-led celebration of music, culture and solidarity in Dzaleka Refugee Camp, Malawi. Founded by Tresor Mpauni, who lived in the camp after being forced to leave the Democratic Republic of Congo, it uses arts and culture to build connections between refugees and the host community in Malawi.

Each year it welcomes musicians and artists from all over Africa, and hosts guests from all over the world within the camp; providing a space to celebrate the artistic skills and organisational talents of an increasingly marginalised refugee community. Against considerable odds, they’ve created the largest festival in Malawi with over 50,000 people attending and over 115 artists performing in 2023. It is the refugee camp’s largest source of commercial income.

Self-organised refugee initiatives like Tumaini allow people seeking refuge to re-define how they see themselves, and create an opportunity for self-sufficiency in a community that is so often stripped of autonomy.

Presenter: Ben Arogundade
Producer: Bairbre Flood’

(Photo: Musician Beanca onstage. Credit: Tumaini Festival)