The problem of displaced people

There Is Hope is a Malawian non-governmental organization (NGO) providing refugees of Dzaleka refugee camp, as well as their Dowa host community, with access to education and income generating activities and strengthening their spiritual well-being. Our vision is to see them escape poverty and become self-reliant.

This 5-minute video produced by Lindi van Niekerk and Alexa Sedgwick captures everything that we stand for.

Political turbulence in many regions of the world has increased the number of displaced people fleeing complex emergencies and disasters. They often end up in large camps where environmental health measures are insufficient. Refugees are people who have crossed an international frontier and are at risk or have been victims of persecution in their country of origin. Internally displaced persons (IDPs), on the other hand, have not crossed an international frontier, but have, for whatever reason, also fled their homes.

At There Is Hope, we believe that the impact of any work which seeks to graduate refugees from a dependency on aid will only reach its full potential when Malawi extends the rights of employment, freedom of movement, integration and access to public education to refugees. We have designed an extensive program aimed at lobbying the government to update its legislation, while bringing greater national awareness to the refugee issue. Allowing refugees to be part of the workforce will not only release refugees from destitution, but it will benefit Malawi with the resilience, determination and innovation that refugees have developed over many painful years.

There Is Hope has already come a long way – through our work we have been able to benefit refugee and Malawian communities alike.

60,000,000

displaced people

33,972

people per day forced to flee conflicts

1 in 113

people affected worldwide

Latest updates

View more posts from the blog.

16 August 2023 / Read more

The making of the first female tailor…

Janet is a young mother of 1 child. She is 23 years old. Janet joined the Tailoring Course with the cohort of January to June 2022 and graduated in September of the same year. She heard of There is Hope from one of our graduates from the same trade. Her father encouraged her to enroll […]

14 July 2023 / Read more

Age Is Just A Number: Mariam’s Journey to Becoming a Tailor at 40

As we chat with Mariam Baisikolo late one afternoon in May of this year, she is interrupted by customers coming to seek her services or a passerby or two shouting “Atelala!…(Tailor!)”. The intriguing story of how the mother of 4 and grandmother of one became a trained Tailor at 43 is what brought me to […]

6 June 2023 / Read more

17 Years of Promoting Self-Reliance Among Refugees and the Host Community!

Our existence has been fueled primarily by self-reliance. We have spent the last 17 years working to ensure that refugees at Dzaleka Refugee Camp and the surrounding Malawian communities have access to opportunities that will propel them to attain self-reliance. Many great things have unfolded before our very eyes. Join us as we reflect on […]

9 May 2023 / Read more

The Single and Self-Reliant Young Lutia

Lutia, who is 23 years old, is single and without a child. Many people in her town are shocked by this, as the majority of her age group are either married or have more than two kids. “I don’t want to enter marriage too quickly, or have a child before marriage. I first wish […]

Our Vision

To see refugees and the host community escape poverty and become self-reliant.

Our Mission

To provide access to education and income generating activities to refugees and their host community as well as strengthen their spiritual wellbeing.

Our Story

The work and nature of There Is Hope is directly linked to the life and story of the organization’s Founder and former Executive Director, Innocent Magambi. Innocent lived as a refugee for more than 27 years, beginning as a small child, and knows firsthand the struggle and misfortune of displaced people fleeing economic crisis or military conflicts. Innocent debunks many common misconceptions about refugees and is dedicated to sharing the reality of what it means to be a refugee. As founder, he shares his vision for the plight of displaced people and encourages everyone he comes in contact with to understand why – and just how much – their help is needed to make a difference and change lives.

An Innovative Approach

For us, charity work is not a matter of giving handouts but empowering beneficiaries to make the best out of their situation. We believe that poverty is not so much a lack of material possessions as it is a state of mind developed through culture, beliefs and debilitating circumstances. Challenging this state of mind with love, compassion and care can transform a person’s attitude to the extent that they go on to become a source of inspiration and support to those around them.

Our greatest resource at There Is Hope is not the money we are able to raise but the time invested in our beneficiaries – listening, understanding and sharing in their suffering and joy. By forming authentic relationships, we gain guidance about what their real needs are, and then embark on the transformation journey together.

There Is Hope strives to bring positive transformation to the lives of both refugees and Malawians. Our goal is to ensure that these people achieve self-dependence.

All programs are offered on a non-discriminatory basis and strive to engender our key values:

Quality

A focus on program excellence.

Accountability

Striving for transparency and efficiency of programs and resources.

Ambition

Setting measurable goals and committing to continuity.

Collaboration

Respecting and thriving on diversity, leveraging our strengths to make a difference.

Integrity

Aspiring to the highest standard of honesty.

Tolerance

Regardless of religion, ethnicity, gender or disability.

Faith

Practicing humility and giving credit for our successes where it is due.

The situation in Malawi

Malawi, famously known as “the Warm Heart of Africa”, is a sub-Saharan landlocked country located in southeastern Africa.

Bordered by Tanzania to the northeast, Mozambique on the east, south and west, and Zambia to the northwest, Malawi obtained independence from the British in 1964. Despite a peaceful history and a democratic political structure, Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. Its estimated population of 18 million is one of the fastest growing worldwide. 45.1% of the total population is under 15 years old while life expectancy at birth stands at 56.7 years for men and 59.9 for women (UN, 2016).

More than half of Malawians live on less than $1 per day and the vast majority rely on subsistence farming. Industry is limited and major exports include tea, coffee, sugar and tobacco.

Refugees and asylum seekers in Malawi originate primarily from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Somalia, and more recently, Mozambique. Some of these people are the children and grandchildren of people who fled conflicts as far back as the 1970s, living in refugee camps in other countries before moving to Malawi in search of better opportunities.

It is in this difficult environment that There Is Hope works with refugees and their host community to provide access to business development, education and spiritual development programs.

Get involved

If you are interested in working with us remotely or here in Malawi, we would love to hear from you. Please email us and tell us about yourself and what you have to offer. Working together is a powerful way of encouraging and developing each other!

Refugee for Life

Learn more about life as a refugee by reading Innocent Magambi’s personal story. Available from Amazon.com in print or on Kindle.

There Is Hope runs a wide range of programs to help the refugee community in Dzaleka refugee camp. We strongly believe that real help is much more than just the emergency response to the basic needs of people in crisis. Our aim is to educate, train and empower vulnerable and displaced people, giving them the dignity, respect, sense of belonging, care and love that they need to survive – and ultimately – to thrive.

Vocational Training

Vocational training is one of the tools of accelerating economic growth and alleviating poverty in developing countries such as Malawi. As There is Hope, we subscribe to that notion, so much so that we tailor our vocational programme towards the youth, who are seen as the drivers of economic growth – being the largest group of the population in Malawi.

Leadership Development Program

For change to effectively take root in a rural African setting, the whole community must be involved and the change must be accepted and endorsed by the leaders.

Social Enterprise

A sustainable income can transform families by providing necessary goods and services, increasing a sense of dignity and by allowing parents to be positive role models to the next generation.

Advocacy

We believe that the impact of any work which seeks to graduate refugees out of aid dependency will only reach its full potential when Malawi extends to refugees the rights of employment, freedom of movement, integration and access to public education.

Education Scholarships

There is Hope values education as a transformational tool that sharpens minds and a movable capital that can be utilized wherever people end up in life. We provide scholarship funding for secondary and university studies for young people with potential which would otherwise be choked by lack of finances. Our work is designed to benefit both refugees and local residents from surrounding villages as a large portion of these populations will struggle to access education.

100%

of graduates from our Leadership Development program are actively involved in their communities

80%

of artisans from our Social Enterprise, Kibebe, have invested part of their income in a second business

81%

of our vocational training graduates are able to utilize their skills in their respective communities

78%

of our refugee graduates can ably use their skills despite restrictions in the national employment laws

Support Our Work Today!

Join our cause of promoting self reliance among the refuge community and their host community by making a donation!

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Get involved

If you are interested in working with us remotely or here in Malawi, we would love to hear from you. Please email us and tell us about yourself and what you have to offer.

UK donations

Support There Is Hope with a tax deductible contribution to our programs.

Crisis and recovery