The annual free of charge Tumaini Festival which is held at Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa returned to the fold on Thursday in a three-day feast that ends on Sunday with several acts in different artistic disciplines expected to offer all the fun.
This year’s edition of Tumaini, which means hope in Swahili, takes place for three days having been running for two days in the past editions because the festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
Organised by Tumaini Letu, the festival which was founded by poet Menes La Plume real name Tresor Mpauni, who is from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is one of the unique festivals in the country and in the world in that it takes place at a refugee camp.
Since its inception in 2014, Tumaini Festival has been a symbol of optimism for the community, the nation and the world, gaining global recognition for its efforts towards inclusiveness and unity.
“Beyond entertainment, the festival’s legacy includes empowering refugees through art, promoting social integration and fostering economic opportunities within and beyond the camp,” Menes La Plume, said recently.
He said that Tumaini Festival’s impact for 10 years has been exponential, providing trade opportunities for 2,335 refugee entrepreneurs, exposing their products, goods and services to new markets outside the camp.
The festival’s communication officer Kensomah Magombo said on Thursday that they were ready to celebrate 10 years of impact, empowering refugees and promoting cultural unity.
“We are running it for three days as opposed to the usual two days because we are celebrating 10th anniversary. Running the festival for 10 years is no mean achievement.
“And so, new interactive spaces and multidisciplinary performances will mark the occasion, with five stages across the camp, boasting an exciting lineup which for the first time will include two international acts from South Africa,” Magombo said.
She said just as the festival has done in the past years, this year they will have a showcase of a variety of activities from music, theatre, acrobatics, traditional and contemporary dance, art exhibitions, fashion shows, poetry, film screenings and children’s activities.
She said as they kicked off the activities on Thursday, they were anticipating to welcome over 55,000 attendees including locals and international visitors, all coming to honour the positive changes they have made over the past decades.
She said through the festival, they have created several programmes that include entrepreneurship and innovation, creative development skills, Dzaleka storytelling project and youth impact programme.
“We also have the Tumaini Homestay/Home-based tourism. This programme aims to reduce poverty among refugees in Malawi and to promote social cohesion between refugees and host communities by transforming Dzaleka Refugee Camp into a community-based tourism destination,” Magombo said.
She further said that Tumaini Letu creates job and business opportunities through this programme and facilitates social-cultural exchange between refugees and local and international guests.
“The homestay programme is meant to serve as an example, showing the world that apart from looking for shelter, refugees can also host others by generously sharing the space they have. This project aims to shift people’s attitudes and negative perceptions towards refugees,” she said.
A resident of Chilomoni in Blantyre Boyd Mkandawire, who has been patronising the festival, said he looks forward to Tumaini every year.
“It is a free festival. It gives me an experience. It is a festival that is well organised and there are lots of lessons. This is a festival where one also gets to sample different foods such as chapatti,” he said.
Meanwhile, with acute shortage of fuel hitting the country, organisers have put in place shuttles for pickups and drop-offs for the three-days from Game Complex, Gateway Mall and Kanengo with fun lovers expected to pay amounts of K7, 500 one way and K15, 000 round trip.
Some of the artists set to perform at the festival include Crispy, Jav-Extra, Vankson, Kimbunga, Seven O More, Mr Maize, Lulu, Lawi, Maverio Mavo, Hyphen, Malita, Tigris and Ntunja from South Africa.
The festival’s uniqueness and impact has earned it recognition worldwide including being an Honourable Mention of the 2021 Global Pluralism Award, winning the 2020 Sharjah International Award for Refugee Advocacy and Support and the World Bank Africa Region’s Social Inclusion Hero Award.
Tumaini was also a finalist of the 2020 Ockenden International Prizes and a finalist of the 2020 Elevate Prize.
Established in 1994, Dzaleka is the only permanent refugee camp in Malawi and it has a population of over 52,000 refugees and asylum seekers from more than 10 countries.
