The Dzaleka facility was designed to accommodate 10,000 people yet currently hosts over 46,000, which has put additional strain on already scarce resources. According to UNHCR the camp has reached its absorption capacity creating congestion issues and leading to multiple challenges for the refugee community in Dzaleka.

The Government of Malawi’s encampment policy restricts freedom of movement and the right to employment and limits refugees’ opportunities. While Malawi has ratified the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the 1967 protocol, and the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention, it holds reservations to these conventions. Specifically, this means that, refugees do not have the freedom of movement, the right to employment, the right to attend public schools and universities or the right to property, among other restrictions. This greatly isolates refugees, limits their financial capacity, and restricts their ability to access opportunities available to Malawians. As a permanent refugee camp, over the past 27 years refugees have been born and raised in Dzaleka Refugee Camp without access to all the above, making it difficult to maintain hope and imagine a future outside the camp with the limitations imposed on refugees, this reduces potential for refugees to integrate into the host country, this restricts self-reliance, fosters conditions of poverty and dependence on international aid. 

Tumaini Letu operates within the Camp implementing numerous programmes to support the refugee community. Tumaini Letu promotes economic, social and cultural inclusion of refugees in Malawi by building capacity of refugees through workshops and training as well as creating business and connection opportunities for refugees and by opening the doors of Dzaleka to visitors from around the world. The organization’s areas of focus include: refugee rights advocacy, community development, youth engagement and behavior change as well as entrepreneurship and job creation.